Man in the Mirror
by Advance4ever
Summary: Ash has just finished his journey in Kalos, but what happens when Serena gives him something to think about? At the same time May has reached the peak of her success. What happens when an old friendship between two friends is rediscovered and something deeper is born. Through laughs and tears life can be turned from worse to better, something Ash & May will learn as they mature.
1. Remember the Time

**Welcome to my new story, I called it "Man in the Mirror", you probably think it's odd for a title, but you'll understand as we progress. Just a heads up, this story has no ties to any of the others, it's completely different. I would also like to say that I'll focus more on AW, but I'll start working on this as well, so don't worry fans of AW, I'm still dedicated to that fanfic. I was supposed to be post up the next chapter of AW with this new story, but Thanksgiving hasn't given me the time. I hope you'll be satisfied with this for the time being and I'll post the next chapter of AW ASAP. Now I hope you enjoy this story, it takes a different approach than several other fanfics and is more realistic than AW. There are no bad guys like the M12 or action-packed chapters; nonetheless I really do hope you like it. Ok, so enough of my blabbering enjoy!**

Chapter 1: When We First Met

Blaziken and Dragonite eyed fiercely. Neither was prepared to give up the fight and their trainers were sweating as much as them due to the intensity of the fight. May gritted her teeth and looked at the timer; she had less than a minute and fewer points than her opponent. She would have to use her final triumph card if she wanted to win.

Her opponent grinded his teeth and knew May's Blaziken and his Dragonite would fall at any second from exhaustion, but he became determined to win at all costs and would take a heavy risk with his next move.

May clenched her fists and thought to herself, _if we don't use this move we'll lose. If we do there is a chance we could win, but because it takes so much power, Blaziken might faint and it might not have been enough to beat Dragonite…either way there's still a chance of us losing. _The brunette sighed and placed her hand over her heart, she knew she would have to make a large sacrifice to win and remembered everything she learned in her journey so far, everything she has experienced brought her to this moment and she would not let it slip now.

Her sapphire eyes began to glow with fire and like if Blaziken could feel her spirit, the injured, but the determined Fire-type increased the flames on its wrists. "Blaziken!" the starter roared with confidence.

May's opponent smirked and spoke, "Dragonite, Double Team and finish with Outrage!"

Dragonite stretched out its wings and howled angrily in response. Suddenly, the mighty dragon began to glow red and its eyes also turned into a red color. Around the dragon, four copies of it appeared and they seemed just as violent as the original. Then without a moment's waste jetted off towards Blaziken to achieve victory once and for all. Some of the Dragonite prepared to fire Dragon Pulse and others threatened to hit Blaziken with Dragon Claw.

May closed her eyes and placed full faith in herself and Blaziken, the two seconds she took to get herself took together felt like an eternity, but then it happened. The coordinator opened her bright blue eyes and yelled, "Blaziken, use our Blast Burn Tornado!"

"Blaz!" the Fighting-type declared and leaped into midair. The Dragonite followed right behind it while some of the other copies redirected their Dragon Pulse to its new location. Blaziken glared at the persistent Dragon-types and began to spin at speeds no one had ever seen before.

May smiled with relief as Blaziken spun faster and faster while a violent fire began to generate like lightning bolts. Everyone was in complete awe, even the Dragonite's trainer. As the Dragonite drew closer and so did the Dragon Pulse, Blaziken felt all its fire begin to release and the fires in its wrists became incredibly hot. Its spinning speed had reached its point and the fire starter yelled, "Blazikeeeeen!" A powerful wind got generated that blew everyone's hair and a fiery tornado appeared on the battlefield while Blaziken roared from within the raging flames, its wrists shot out fire like lightning bolts, but much thicker and powerful.

Blast Burn eradicated the Dragon Pulse and quickly exterminated the Dragonite copies. The only target left was the actual Dragonite and due to confusion, the Pseudo Legendary Pokémon was left hopeless and even though it tried to dodge, the Blast Burn was too fast and violent. Like lightning, the fire scorched Dragonite and made it howl in pain. The rest of Blaziken's Blast Burn bolts destroyed several parts of the battlefield, but most of the energy had gotten concentrated on the Dragonite.

The Dragon winced in pain and through the burning fires and the red tornado; it eyed Blaziken, who returned its gaze. Dragonite would no longer endure the pain of Blast Burn and shut its eyes as it dropped on the battlefield while the flames around it faded. The judges who had been observing quickly pressed on their buttons and declared Dragonite unable to battle.

Blaziken let out a deep breath and with the last of its power, landed gently on the ground while May's opponent eyed Blaziken in disbelief. "My Dragonite!" the boy yelled in shock.

The Johto crowd roared in happiness when they realized Blaziken remained on its feet. Many wolf whistled at her; they cheered her name, roared out compliments, and clapped for her victory. May was in disbelief and simply admired the praise she had never received before; this was the last thing she had been expecting. Her eyes then turned to Blaziken, who stood in front of her with a smile on its face.

"Blaziken!" the brunette ran towards the Pokémon and threw herself at it.

"Ken," Blaziken caught the trainer in its arms and embraced her happily.

"Thank you so much. You always stuck by me and today, you helped me win my first Grand Festival. I'm so proud of you, I love you so much. I do," the brunette cried in her starter's feathers and as she repeated her words of love for Blaziken.

The girl would've continued to weep tears of happiness in Blaziken's arms, but the host of the Grand Festival tapped her shoulder and the brunette knew what would come next. The Petalburg girl looked at the host and smiled.

"May, the residents of Johto, our judges, and I are proud to proclaim you as this year's Top Coordinator! Isn't that right folks!" the host cheered.

Her words got followed by cheer that made the floor shake and May continued to find herself overwhelmed by the attention as the host handed her the trophy. Among the audience she spotted the person who she had deep care for, he had helped her find the confidence and skill she needed to get this far. He was one of the closest things in her heart aside from Max and Blaziken. His advice and encouragement guaranteed him a special spot in her heart. No one other than Blaziken had stuck beside her for so long; he had always been there since she first started out her journey. She smiled and felt great feelings of affection for him as he smiled back, _Drew…_she thought.

* * *

**4 years later...**

"Shame we have to slowly break up like this. It hasn't even been two days and I already want to see Bonnie and Clemont," Serena sighed as she, Ash, and Pikachu walked through the airport.

"Yeah, too bad…" Ash said with a plain tone as they just walked through the airport.

Serena frowned and took a good look at his face; she looked at Pikachu's and saw the same disappointed face on the mouse. She sighed and spoke, "C'mon you two, I know it must have been hard losing the Kalos Conference, but there's always next time right?"

Ash and Pikachu looked at Serena and they put on weak smiles, "I guess, but I feel like this is getting a bit too repetitive. I feel no matter how hard we train, sometimes it isn't enough to make us the winners we want to be and on top of that, Pikachu and I always say goodbye to the friends we've come to love."

"Awww," Serena hugged Ash and Pikachu, "I wish we didn't have to split up, but we have to, if we want to follow our dreams."

"I just wonder when things will finally begin to change," Ash sighed in disappointment.

Serena smiled at him and touched his cheek, "Someday the two of you will win it I know it. Ash, you and Pikachu, and all your other Pokémon are a powerful team, when do you achieve your victory, you will get recognized as one of the best, it just takes patience. Plus, I'm sure along the way you will find someone who will have the same interest as you and won't ever want to leave your side because they enjoy your company as much as I have."

Ash and Pikachu tears in the corners of their eyes, but the two were grinning at her. "Pi," Pikachu licked Serena's cheek while the girl wiped away the mouse's tears and Ash wiped his own.

"Thanks Serena," Ash said with a grateful tone.

"You're welcome," Serena beamed at them. "Now how about I buy us some ice cream before your flight, you don't want to ride the plane on an empty stomach."

"I don't really feel comfortable with you having to pay for our ice cream," Ash commented with uncertainty.

"Don't be silly, it's my treat to you guys for taking me on such a fun adventure," Serena winked at them and Ash sighed with a chuckle, there was no use in arguing with the blonde-haired girl.

* * *

They continued walking through the airport aimlessly as they waited for Ash's flight, Pikachu happily ate his chocolate ice cream while Ash satisfied himself with vanilla and Serena licked her strawberry ice cream.

"Thanks again for the ice cream Serena," Ash happily licked the delicious treat.

"Pikapi pi!" Pikachu also thanked the Kalos girl.

"No problem guys," Serena responded with a joyful tone. The girl was happy to see Ash and Pikachu being themselves again for the time being at least…

"You know, Pikachu and I are going to really miss you," Ash told her with a soft tone.

"So will I, I'll miss you guys so much it won't be the same. I hope this time you won't forget about me though," Serena's sweet face turned into a glare when she recalled how Ash had forgotten her when they met up again at the start of their Kalos journey.

"Don't worry, this time we won't. How could we?" Ash chuckled nervously, but assured Serena they would not forget her.

"Good, I just wonder where I'll go from here now," Serena smiled and then looked up at the ceiling as she thought about what to do next in her adventures.

Ash thought the same as Serena, but before he could think deeply about it, Pikachu tapped his shoulder, "Pikapi pikachu."

"Huh, what's wrong Pikachu?" Ash asked the little one, noticing the surprised expression on its face, and followed the direction the mouse was pointing at.

The raven-haired boy's eyes turned to a magazine stand next to a book store and Ash's eyes widened when he took a look at one of the magazine covers. Without even thinking, the auburn-eyed teen ran over to it.

"Ash, what's wrong?" Serena saw him jolt off with no answer and the girl ran after him with an annoyed.

"It can't be…" Ash picked up one of the magazines and took a look at the cover. He blinked his eyes multiple times to make sure he wasn't seeing things, but his vision had not been lying to him.

Pikachu appeared almost as stunned as Ash and just stared at the magazine like a statue. Serena caught up with them and tilted her head in confusion, she took a look at the magazine Ash was holding and asked, "What's wrong Ash?"

"I know this person," Ash easily recognized her, he could never forget her beautiful brown hair or her bright sapphire eyes, there was no doubt in his mind that this was the same girl he met so many years ago.

"You're kidding, you know May!" Serena's eyes widened and picked up a copy of the magazine.

Ash nodded and spoke with a very shocked tone, "Yeah, I know May. We traveled together in Hoenn and Kanto when we were only around twelve or thirteen. We met again in Sinnoh a year later, but we did not hear of each other again until now. I can't believe it." The boy's auburn eyes could move away from the cover, he just kept staring at May's sapphire eyes. He stared at them so much he felt as though the magazine was returning the gaze.

"Wow," was the only word Ash could say as he looked at how beautifully her brunette hair went down and matched the glow of her eyes. She wore a blue blouse that resembled the red one she always wore, but for some reason, Ash found her more beautiful than he originally remembered. That gaze, her smile, the way she placed her hands on her chin and seemed so graceful with the ocean in the background.

"Ash, I think if you keep staring you're going to drool," Serena teased him.

Ash snapped out of his trance the moment Serena spoke, "Sorry," he apologized and smiled sheepishly.

Serena giggled and opened the magazine, "Hey look, they have some information about May here too."

"Really?!" Ash said with surprise and instantly opened the magazine to find a whole page dedicated to May. On the top left corner there was a picture of May in this blue and white dress along with a bandana of the same colors. She had fancier white gloves on and Ash couldn't help but blush when noticed May had the straps of the blue/white dress lowered.

Pikachu couldn't believe how much the girl had developed, as the mouse looked at the picture he could still see the innocence in her eyes, but he could also see the maturity and womanhood reflected in her eyes. "Pipika," Pikachu chuckled as he saw Ash staring, he knew the human was probably finding May very attractive at the moment.

Ash turned his eyes from the photo to the text beside it. There was a whole list of things about May, including her favorite food, favorite movie, etc. What really amazed Ash however, was her list of accomplishments. _I can't believe…she did all this…_he thought as he read about his friend. He discovered May had won three Grand Festivals, she is considered the world's most beautiful female under the age of 21, a phenomenal performer, and is currently training under the Pokémon Champion Wallace. Among that there were lots of other achievements, there were so many though, it was too much for Ash to read.

"Talk about beautiful, talented, and skilled huh? I can't believe you know May, Ash, this girl is a total prodigy," Serena finished reading the magazine and placed it back on the shelf.

"I couldn't agree more," Ash said with a happy tone. The Pallet boy felt great joy for May and was proud of her accomplishments, but some reason he started to feel butterflies in his stomach as they walked about her.

"You said you were like 14 when you last saw her?" Serena questioned.

"Yep," Ash nodded.

"And you haven't seen or spoken to her since?" Serena inquired.

"Not that I can remember," Ash couldn't recall any moments he had spoken to May.

Serena clenched her fist and spoke with an annoyed tone, "So you haven't spoken to this girl who is probably 18 or more at this point. You had no clue she is involved in the world of celebrities and you didn't even try to contact her even once throughout this whole time?"

Ash could feel a chill run down his spine as he knew where Serena was going with this, "Well…no…" the boy said nervously.

"You idiot, I can't believe no matter how old you get you still forget about your friends like this. This girl is one of the most beautiful girls on the face of the planet, she has accomplished more things in just 18 years than others could accomplish their entire lives and you haven't even spoken to her once since Sinnoh!" Serena screamed at Ash for his carelessness.

Ash felt like hiding under a rock the moment Serena's aggressive tone echoed through his ears. Pikachu on the other hand sighed; "Pikachu…" the mouse accepted his failure to keep his trainer in contact with all their traveling friends.

At age 19 Ash's physical appearance had not changed much since he was 10, but neither did his maturity. Like a child the boy played with his fingers and spoke with a guilty tone, "Its cause…I've...we...ya see…"

"I see you have no excuse," Serena crossed her arms and frowned at him.

Ash sighed and gave up on defending his case. Serena had every right to yell at him, as he remembered May, Ash recalled how he had mentored the girl, he had promised her they'd be friends forever, and swore he would always be there for her no matter what. _May be I'm a lousy friend, _Ash thought about how he had lost touch with May.

"You know I would ask what your history with this girl is, but I bet it'll just give me more reasons to yell at you in front of all these people. I wonder if you forgot about her as easily as me when summer camp had ended and something tells me, you forgetting about May seems to be even worse than when you forgot about me," Serena instilled fear into Ash with her glare.

"I see what you mean," Ash lowered his head in grief.

"Pikachu?" Pikachu tried to speak his trainer.

Serena's glare faded as she realized how harsh she was being with Ash. She shouldn't be yelling at him, after all, he was like Peter Pan, the boy who would never grow up. His interest in Pokémon and Leagues was just too difficult to turn away from and it had always been one of his priorities. Serena walked over to him as she took his ice cream and hers and threw them away, she sighed and spoke, "I'm sorry Ash, I shouldn't have yelled at you."

Ash lifted his head and she noticed that his eyes were a bit teary, but the boy was grinning, "It's ok Serena, I'll be fine. I agree with you though, I have been careless with my friends, I had forgotten that there are other things that need my attention as well, not just Pokémon and Championships, but friends also."

Serena smiled at him sweetly, "I'm glad you're starting to see it that way, I know there are many people out there who love you Ash and are wondering how you are doing. Your heart is innocent and pure, which is what makes you so unforgettable to others, you just have an aura that feels nice. You're the friend none of us would ever like to let go and I know you don't want to let go of them either. I'm sure all of them kind and supportive towards you, but sometimes our goals can make us forget about everything else."

"But not this time," Ash wiped away the tears forming in his eyes and smiled.

Serena raised an eyebrow and said, "What do you mean?"

"I know I've hit a rough spot in my journey and right now I don't feel as strong as I thought I was. I was planning on dedicating my time to some intensive training in another region like usual, but now I feel like there are some promises I have to keep," Ash turned to the magazine cover of May.

"You mean?" Serena attempted to read his mind.

"I won't make the same mistake I did with you Serena, I want to make things right this time. I made a promise to May and I said I'd never break," Ash made a fist and smiled confidently.

"You're going to contact her?" Serena's eyes brightened and she began to smile.

"That's right!" Ash smiled at Serena.

"Do you have a plan? Do you have a way of contacting her?" Serena asked excitedly.

"Pikachu pika!" Pikachu also became excited with the new spirit Ash was displaying.

The same chill as before passed down Ash's spine and the boy's confidence slipped a bit, "Not exactly," Ash laughed nervously.

Serena and Pikachu were about to throw themselves on the floor, but they couldn't give up on their friends just yet. "Oh Ash," Serena let out a sigh as the boy laughed nervously. Serena looked at Ash with sympathetic eyes, "You know it's going to be harder to contact her since she's a celebrity," Serena said with a soft tone.

"I know," Ash said, but the comment didn't seem to affect his confidence.

Serena smiled over the confidence Ash displayed and said something, "You know Ash. I have a suggestion on how you can contact May."

"Go for it," Ash was all ears.

"May and you are always traveling all over the world, so I think you should send her a letter, it's the best form of contact you guys have at your disposal," Serena told the raven-haired boy.

"A letter?" Ash questioned.

"Yep, a letter is always guaranteed to reach the person it is directed to thanks to the Pokémon Center. The Pokémon Center is the best thing this world has not only because it is the best healing center, but also because it has the best delivery service. Whether you're a celeb or not, everyone goes to a Pokémon Center, I think it's pretty clever don't ya?" Serena explained to him.

"It actually does when you think about it. What should I write?" Ash replied he was clearly considering the thought.

"You'll figure it out," Serena encouraged him and Ash gave her a friendly nod.

"Attention all passengers flying to Kanto must begin boarding now," the announcement rang through the airport as many people quickly began to rush to the gate that was for the plane to Kanto.

"Well guess it's time to say goodbye," Serena said with a sad grin.

"Pi…." Pikachu expressed his sadness.

"Looks that way," Ash returned a sad smile.

"Goodbye Ash and Pikachu!" Serena pulled them into a hug, "I'll miss you guys so much…please don't forget me…if you do…you'll regret meeting up with me again in the future," the girl warned them as she began to weep.

"We won't Serena, we never will, I say it from the bottom of my heart," Ash held her tight and assured her he would not forget about her.

"Pika," Pikachu hugged Serena's shoulder and assured her the same.

"And Ash," Serena sniffled.

"Yeah?" Ash asked her.

"Good luck with May, she's a cute one," Serena wept a bit more and giggled.

Ash raised an eyebrow and spoke, "What do you mean by that?"

"You'll understand later," Serena separated from him and winked at the boy.

Pikachu was a bit suspicious about what the girl meant though, something in the mouse's gut told him that Serena was predicting something, now he was trying to figure it out.

"Good luck in all that you do Serena, we'll meet again soon," Ash smiled at her.

"Same to you Ash," Serena beamed back and then waved her hand, "Bye."

"Goodbye," Ash responded and then the Kalos female jetted off, getting lost in the crowd of people as Ash just smiled. His experience with Serena had been a nice one, and one he won't forget.

His gaze then turned to the large window that gave him a view of his plane to Kanto. _Now what should I write? _He thought.

* * *

May posed in a red dress and posed beautifully for the photographer. "That's it May, you got it," the photographer snapped endless shots of her.

May blew a kiss at the camera with long fancy red gloves and the photographer took another shot. "Alright, one more," the photographer told her.

"Right," May nodded and then got up against the white wall and gazed at the camera with a flirty expression while biting her lip.

"Perfect! We're done for the day May," the photographer declared.

May let out a sigh of relief and spoke, "Thank goodness."

As the photographer walked away, one of May's bodyguards walked towards her. He wore a black suit and sunglasses, his stern face made him a bit intimidating for others, except for May. "May, Wallace called. He wanted to remind you have an exhibition match with the Sootopolis Gym Leader Juan this afternoon."

"Right, anything else?" May sighed as her bodyguard informed her.

"One of the butlers for Princess Salvia's family called to remind you that you have to perform for the royal family in the evening as well, they were pretty strict about it, so make sure you arrive on time," the security guard told her.

May had an annoyed look on and spoke with a plain tone, "Ok, thanks."

"Of course," the bodyguard nodded.

May then walked into her room, she was incredibly anxious to take off the red dress. _I can't believe I had to wear this the whole morning, it isn't exactly comfortable, _May complained as she walked in the dress. Apart from being a really short dress, what bugged her most about it was the fact that it exposed some cleavage, which she didn't feel comfortable with

May hung her head low as she entered her room slowly, _sometimes I wish I had never become a Top Coordinator_, the brunette thought.

**Hope you liked the beginning to this new story. I don't know how long it'll be; I hope it doesn't become as long as my other stories lol, but who knows. Please REVIEW, PM, ETC, FEEDBACK IS ALWAYS WELCOMED. For those who were wondering, the anime already revealed that Serena and Ash met at summer camp in Pallet, so that's where I got my source from. This chapter was smooth and uneventful so it could introduce the plot; I hope you guys are excited because I sure am about where I'll go with this. Till the next chapter guys!**


	2. Smile

Chapter 2: Even Though It's Breaking

"What could I possibly write Pikachu, I have so many thoughts jumbled up I can't think clearly. I wish there were a better way to contact celebrities," Ash sighed as they entered Pallet Town.

"Pikachu pi," Pikachu let out a deep breath of disappointment as well.

Ash stared up at the clouds as they continued talking and said, "I guess I could congratulate her on becoming so successful, especially so quickly. She's traveled for less time than I have and has already accomplished much more…than I have." The last thought running through Ash's mind dampened his train of thought and the boy lowered his head in sadness.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked his partner as he sat on his shoulder.

"I just wonder if I'll make something out of myself Pikachu. It always seems to be the same old story, I travel to a new region, train beyond my limits, compete in a league only to lose again and the cycle repeats itself. I do not doubt the strength of you or my other Pokémon, I love you all very much and always fight your hardest for me, but I'm starting to question how capable I really am about becoming a Pokémon Master. I feel as though I'm just not destined for it anymore if I keep losing like this, a Pokémon Master is tough and always overcomes every challenge coming his way yet here I'm doing the complete opposite." Ash gazed at the dirt as they walked and kept on thinking about his failures as a trainer. "I wish I knew how to reach my dream like May did…" he looked up at the blue sky with sad eyes.

"Chu," Pikachu lowered his ears and looked at his trainer with a sad expression as they kept moving along. The mouse sympathized with his friend and felt the same way about their adventures; the Electric-type also wondered when his best friend would become a Pokémon Master. Pikachu usually had wise answers to many things thanks to its experiences but for once, the little Pokémon didn't know how handle this situation.

Abruptly, they heard a footstep and the two instantly turned around to see a biker with a black bandana on. The black bandana had the skull of a Marowak on it, but the stranger himself was just a scrawny and sleazy-looking guy.

"May I help you?" Ash raised an eyebrow as he stared at the guy, prepared for anything just in case.

The biker chuckled disturbingly and spoke, "Would you happen to be Ash Ketchum, the trainer who competed in the conference at Kalos?"

"Yeah that would be me why?" Ash asked with his typical confused face.

The biker began to laugh loudly and manically when Ash answered, his laughter sent chills down Ash's spine. Pikachu sensed the danger this guy seemed to bring and began to emit sparks, but even Pikachu felt shivers down its spine as the man laughed like an evil clown.

"Stupid brat, I could have done better in that conference. It's a shame punks like you get allowed to compete in such high class tournaments," the biker mocked him with a devilish grin.

Ash gritted his teeth and spoke, "It's harder than it looks ya know. I would like to see you compete in a conference on that level."

The biker merely chuckled and responded, "Well then let's see how tough you truly are." Without warning but not very surprising the man threw a Pokéball, "Golem, fight!"

"If it's a battle he wants, it's a battle he'll get. Go get em Pikachu," Ash said to his best friend.

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded and dropped to the ground with a glare.

"Golem," Golem glared back at Pikachu.

"You must be smoking something, do you realize Electric-types aren't very good against Ground-types?" the biker questioned with annoyance.

"A battle is more than about types if you didn't know and I'll show it to you," Ash frowned at the biker.

"Golem, use Rock Throw!" the biker pointed at Pikachu.

"Gol!" Golem raised its arms and formed a white ball of energy that eventually grew to about its size. The bright sphere transformed into a giant rock and the Rock-type immediately threw it at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash countered.

"Pika!" Pikachu leaped upward and swung its iron tail at the rock, smashing it into species.

"Follow with Electro Ball!" Ash commanded.

"Pikachuuuu!" Pikachu swung its tail one more time in midair and released the electric sphere at Golem, who did nothing to counter.

When the Rock-type got hit with Electro Ball it simply dispersed, making Golem only chuckle. Ash and Pikachu's eyes widened when they realized their mistake, but Ash felt his heart drop when he noticed it. "You're sending off a horrible message with that last move I can't believe it," the biker laughed.

"I forgot electric moves don't affect Ground-types," Ash face palmed himself while Pikachu sighed in dismay.

"My turn, Golem, Rock Blast!" the biker instructed loudly.

"Lem!" Golem formed three rings of white rock-shaped attacks and fired them at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, dodge with Agility and then move in with Quick Attack!" Ash made his next move. Pikachu frowned and braced itself; the mouse then shot down while appearing to run on the air and easily avoided the Rock Blast.

"How is it able to run on air, what the?" the biker expressed his astonishment.

"Switch to Double-Edge!" Ash ordered.

"Pikaaaa!" Pikachu cried out and as it moved speedily towards Golem, it developed a bright gold aura. The biker and Golem had no time to react and Pikachu's speedy moves gave them even less time, but Ash and Pikachu were for a surprise when they hit their mark.

On impact, Pikachu bashed as hard as it could against Golem, yet the attack was ineffective because Pikachu was sent flying back while Golem smirked in delight. "Huh?" Ash gasped in shock.

"Normal-type moves aren't very good either. That Double-Edge hurt your Pikachu more than it hurt my Golem. This battle is in the bag, Golem, use Rollout!" the biker demanded.

"Golem!" the Rock-type cried out and took the shape of a ball. The Megaton Pokémon then rolled forward rapidly as Pikachu still flew backward from the recoil.

"Pikachu, watch out!" Ash ordered, but it wasn't good enough.

While still stunned from the pain Pikachu could only watch weakly as Golem charged forward the pain increased even more when it felt its rock body bash against its fragile shape. "Piiiikaaaa!" the mouse cried as Golem sent it flying.

"Again!" the biker exclaimed.

"Goooool!" Golem spun around and as Pikachu prepared to fall down to the ground the Rock-type sent it flying once again.

"Pikachu no!" Ash shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Let's let it drop," the biker chuckled as Golem reverted back to its normal form.

"Pi!" was the only thing the mouse was able to say when it landed on the ground.

"Roll over it flat," the biker crossed his arms.

"Leeeem!" Golem shouted and quickly got back into Rollout position.

"Stop!" Ash grinded his teeth in anger but that didn't stop Golem.

"Chuuuuuu!" Pikachu cried out as Golem ran over it.

"A fourth Rollout should be enough Golem," the biker chuckled.

Golem spun around one more time and as Pikachu still lied on the ground in pain, Ash clenched his fists in anger. "Pikachuuuuuu!" Ash yelled and ran towards the mouse in order to protect it.

"Pi…" Pikachu stared weakly at a blurry image of Ash, but as its best friend got closer he could hear the ground tremble because of Golem's Rollout. If Ash got hit by Golem's Rollout, the boy's body would be crushed. Then an image of Ash getting crushed shock through the mouse's head and the sounds of bones cracking echoed through Pikachu's mind.

Before Ash could get any closer, with the last of its strength the mouse leaped into the air much to everyone's surprise. "Piiiiiiikaaaaaaa," Pikachu made its tail glow until it turned into the color of iron and seconds before impact with Golem the mouse shouted, "Chuuuuuuuuuuu!" Pikachu's tail was swung like a bat and much to the biker's astonishment, Iron Tail sent the rolling Golem flying into the air like a baseball with bits of rock showering from the sky.

"Pikachu…" Ash got caught off guard by Pikachu's comeback.

"What in the name of," the biker became paralyzed by surprise.

"Pika!" Pikachu jetted off to Golem's height thanks to Agility and ran in the air until it caught up with the injured Rock-type.

"Gol!" Golem's eyes widened when it saw Pikachu, still feeling the pain of Iron Tail coursing through its cracked body.

Pikachu glared at it angrily and did a somersault as its tail turned into iron once more, "Pikachuuuuuu!" the Electric-type slammed its tail against Golem as hard as it could one last time with chunks of rock flying high into the air and Golem shot down like an asteroid.

"Goooooleeeeeeem!" Golem squealed in pain as it hit the ground producing a sudden tremor and a cloud of dust.

"Pika," Pikachu dropped to the ground its hind feet, still glaring at Golem's crash site.

Ash remained speechless as he waited for the cloud of dust to disappear. After several seconds, much to the raven-haired boy's relief there laid Golem with swirl eyes and a medium-sized crater surrounding it.

"But how?!" the biker pulled off his bandana in anger and slammed it on the dirt.

"Pi," Pikachu smirked until it felt its entire body shut off and it dropped to the ground unconscious. The sound of Pikachu dropping quickly made Ash forget about his unexpected victory and the boy ran over to it, "Pikachu, you did awesome!" he yelled.

He got on his knees and watched with sadness at his beaten friend. Ash could not remember the last time Pikachu had been so unfairly abused in a battle. His sadness turned into anger and the teen glared at the biker, who was throwing a tantrum over his defeat.

"How could I have possibly lost a weakling like you? This is absolutely ridiculous!" the man shouted in anger as he pulled the little hair he had left on his head.

Ash got on his feet as he held onto Pikachu and said nothing to the man. He merely turned around and began to run with Pikachu safe in his arms. The Pallet boy was in no mood to get into a physical fight, especially with his buddy in this condition.

"Pi," Pikachu said weakly as it tried to open its eyes.

"It's ok Pikachu, just hold on. We'll make it to Professor Oak's soon just please hold on," Ash said with a worried tone as he jolted past the streets of Pallet. As he ran through the plain houses and stores Ash cursed his luck for battling the biker, he cursed his luck for making Pikachu go through this, and cursed his luck for being a fair distance away from Oak's Laboratory. As the frustration inside him built up, he began to run faster and tried to distract his mind by observing the environment around him.

A few seconds before passing a store Ash's eyes widened when he spotted a giant poster on the window with the title written in big letters, "Watch the Exhibition Match between May and Juan tonight at 7!" Immediately, thoughts of the letter and May returned to his head and as he dashed past the store, he managed to take a good look at it in order to recall it in his mind. While still running to Oak's Lab, Ash remembered the pictures of Juan in his usual attire and flashing a charming smile whereas May got dressed in an outfit similar to the one she had worn in Sinnoh except blue and flashed her signature smile. It was also hinted that the battle would be water-themed since there was a Water-type battlefield image between the two battlers.

_Too bad I couldn't stop to take a better look at it, _Ash cursed his luck once again and then looked down at his unconscious friend, _but there are more important things to deal with at the moment. _

* * *

_"Alright, you're gonna have to go ahead without us May," the shadow of the raven-haired boy looked at her and spoke with a stern tone as she was still stunned by the announcement. _

_ "Huh?" May looked at him with surprise. _

_ "Don't worry, I can take care of Max, the three of us can catch the ferry tomorrow and be there to root for you. The contest starts tomorrow; if you are not there tonight you won't be able to compete," the stranger said to her as she lowered her head with sadness. _

_ "Yeah but…" the girl tried to argue with the shadowy figure she could not identify. _

_ Suddenly, he placed his hands on her shoulders, "This has been your dream. Pacifidlog is the last contest and your last chance to get into the Grand Festival right." _

_ "Yeah," the brunette said with uncertainty. _

_ "Then you really ought to go for it," the mysterious person told her. _

_ May raised her head and looked at him with sadness, "I want to…but I'm not going to." _

_ "But why not, there isn't gonna be another Grand Festival for a whole another year!" the boy said with surprise. _

_ "And believe me; I want to be there more than anything but still…there are some things that are more important than what I want," she said with sad tone. _

_ For a moment the two stood there as May recalled as to why she refused to go. Deeper in her thoughts though, she tried to identify this person that kept insisting for her to go, but his face was hidden in the shadows. All that she could identify was the raven hair he had sticking out of his hat and the shadow of a Pikachu sitting on his shoulder. _

_ She looked at him with a soft grin and spoke kindly, "I have to honor that vow that I made her even if it means missing out on my ribbon and this Grand Festival." She made two fists and smiled proudly, "I'll start working on next year's festival and get even stronger," but then she lowered her head again and said softly, "Of course it'll be hard to start over again but…" _

_ "Wow May," the figure said with surprise. _

_ Suddenly the sound of the boat taking off was heard and they focused their eyes on the ship leaving to Pacifidlog. As it left her behind, her eyes began to get watery and tried to hold back the tears, but before she knew it she was weeping. _

_ "May, I…" the figure said to her, but as soon as he saw her cry the girl quickly wiped away her tears. _

_ As soon she wiped away her tears, she smiled and replied to him, "Thank you A-," but before she could finish there was a loud ringing sound that became incredibly earsplitting. She got on her knees and began to shout as the ringing hurt her ears, but as she glimpsed at the figure in front of her she noticed that he seemed oblivious to the ringing. May tried to speak and endure the pain, but the sound was too loud to handle and she eventually lost her patience. _

"Stop!" she yelled as she sat up on her bed while gasping for air.

As it turns out the ringing was her video phone and May instantly jumped out of her bed to pick it up. "Hello!" May said anxiously, still recovering from her dream.

As soon as she picked up her phone, her mother appeared on the screen. "Hi sweetie, how are you doing?" Greeting May with a cheery grin.

"Hey mom just woke up from a nap," May said with a sheepish grin.

"I noticed you're still dressed in your regular clothes. Shouldn't you be getting ready for your exhibition match with Juan?" Caroline asked with a raised eyebrow.

May sighed and replied, "I know mom," saying it with a rather low tone.

Caroline immediately caught May's sign of sadness and questioned her with a concerned voice, "Is something wrong May?"

"I had another dream about him mom…" May answered with a gloomy voice.

"Oh sweetheart…" Caroline sighed, "Do you want to talk about?"

"I can't really explain it, sorry mom," May told her.

"Ok honey, so how is everything else?" Caroline inquired.

"Stressful, busy, not fun like always," May giggled a little but she still sounded miserable. "I wish I could get a breather more often. At least I know how dad feels now," May added to her previous comment.

"Fame does seem to run in this family," Caroline chuckled.

"Yeah…" May said visibly sad.

Caroline let out a deep breath and spoke, "May, do you remember the nice part of the life you have now. Do you remember what we discussed with your father?"

May smiled softly, "I do."

"What?" Caroline inquired.

"I like performing for others and making them happy. I enjoy working alongside my Pokémon and bonding with them every time. I love visiting and helping others who are less fortunate than us. I really like going to places I've never seen before," May recalled her favorite activities that result from her celebrity life.

"That's right. If you keep focusing your mind on those positive things than you'll see that things will get better," Caroline told the sapphire-eyed girl.

May nodded happily, "You're right mom, thank you."

"Ok May, I'll let you go get ready," Caroline prepared to say farewell to her daughter.

May checked the clock and noticed that it was already 4:30. "Ok mom. Take care, I love you so much. Tell dad and Max I sent them all my love," the coordinator said with a sweet tone.

"Of course honey, you take care as well. We love you very much and we're extremely proud of you," Caroline told her affectionately.

"Goodbye," May said softly as her mom waved goodbye until May's screen turned black and the girl headed for her bedroom-sized closet.

As Caroline hung up the phone and saw her daughter disappear, she placed her hand on her forehead while sighing. "If only she knew…I'm certain it could return her life to the way it use to be," Caroline said with sadness and single tear streamed down her cheek.

* * *

"Professor Oak, it's me Ash, please open up!" Ash knocked on the door the moment he made the final step to the lab.

It didn't take long for some of Ash's anxiety to disappear when Gary opened the door for him and got received by a group of his friends. "Surprise!" Brock, Misty, Gary, Tracey, Professor Oak, and Delia shouted excitedly.

"Welcome back As-," Professor Oak failed to finish his welcome when he saw Pikachu.

"Oh my!" Delia gasped when she saw her son's beloved Pokémon covered in wounds.

"Ash, what happened?" Brock said with a horrified tone.

"Did something bad happen?" Misty asked with a worrisome voice.

"Pikachu and I got into a Pokémon battle with this biker and Pikachu got hurt pretty badly," Ash said with a dismal attitude.

"Let me take care of this Ash," Tracey received the mouse from his longtime friend.

"The wounds must be tended immediately," Professor Oak examined the little Pokémon's body.

"When did you get into a Pokémon battle Ash?" Misty inquired with the same worrisome voice.

"It was on my walk here, this random guy just challenged us," Ash explained to the orange-haired girl.

"It must have been a pretty strong trainer if it managed to hurt Pikachu like that," Brock stated with concern.

"No he wasn't exactly very strong. Something went wrong with how Pikachu and I handled the battle. The trainer was not the problem…we just didn't have control of the battle correctly…" Ash lowered his head as he admitted the disappointing truth.

"What how did that happen Ashy boy? How'd someone who got Top 4 in the Kalos conference lose to an average trainer?" Gary inquired with shock and some disappointment.

"I don't know," Ash answered truthfully, feeling an arrow go through him when Gary recalled his performance at the Kalos conference.

Gary raised an eyebrow while Brock and Misty gazed at Ash with confusion; the trio knew something wasn't right about this. Something felt deeply wrong about Ash. Their thoughts were cut though when Tracey spoke, "Guys if you could please all come to the medical room."

"Sure," Ash's three friends replied simultaneously.

Their walk to the medical room was silent as Gary, Brock, and Misty kept thinking about the whole current situation while Delia, Tracey, and Professor Oak were occupied with Pikachu. Ash on the other hand just kept walking aimlessly, preferring not to think about anything on the moment since he already had enough stress on his shoulders. He thought about how his friends and family had thrown him a surprise party, if he hadn't battled that biker this wouldn't be happening and they'd be enjoying themselves. _Then again this wouldn't have happened if I just battled the biker how I battle all my opponents, Pikachu wouldn't have gotten hurt if I kept my mind on the battle, _Ash thought in his mind, blaming himself for the disaster.

When they reached the medical room, Professor Oak and Tracey quickly placed Pikachu in a healing chamber while Delia helped them. Ash watched with sadness as his pal moved weakly, not caring if Brock, Misty, or Gary kept eyeing him. After a few minutes his mom walked over to him and spoke with a worrying voice, "Sweetie, are you alright?"

"I guess I'm ok, don't worry about it mom," Ash tried to pull off his usual smile, but he didn't think his mom bought it.

"Yeah Ash, are you feeling ok? That's not the kind of attitude I would expect from someone who recently got Top 4 in Kalos," Misty said to him playfully in order to cheer up the atmosphere.

"I know, I'm just worried about Pikachu," Ash laughed a bit as he responded to her comment.

"It's alright Ash. Pikachu we'll be just fine, the professor and I can assure you that," Tracey's voice caught Ash's attention and the boy turned to his old friend.

"That's right, all Pikachu needs a long rest and he'll recover by tomorrow. Although, he will have to sleep here for the night," Professor Oak added to what Tracey said.

Ash's face lightened up a bit, "Really? That's great news, thank you so much professor and Tracey. I'm not sure what would have happened if this was in a remote area."

"The important thing is that Pikachu will be ok and you're here reunited with friends and family, Ash, I think you deserve a relaxing day for the rest of the evening," Brock said to his friend.

Ash smiled at his oldest traveling partner and nodded, "Thank you Brock."

"So how's about we all eat something!" Delia clasped her hands together in her usual joyful tone.

All of a sudden, Ash's stomach grumbled loudly and everyone couldn't help but laugh. "Some things will never change," Misty giggled as she eyed Ash with a teasing gaze and the boy smiled sheepishly.

"We'll be eating outside for a change. Even though the sun is setting, it still is a beautiful day. Who's with me?" Professor Oak informed them.

"We couldn't agree more gramps," Gary said and everyone expressed their agreement as well with a nod.

The thought of going outside to the ranch made Ash smiled and the boy said excitedly, "If we're outside to eat, I'll see you guys there!" Without another word Ash ran out of the medical room with excitement over reuniting with his Pokémon again.

"Ash, wait!" Misty tried to stop him from leaving ahead of them.

"Always on the move," Delia giggled.

"Like you said Misty, some things will never change," Gary smirked and everyone shared another laugh.

_Seeing all of my other Pokémon will probably distract me from all the stuff going on, I can hardly wait to see them, _Ash's excitement grew as he saw exit to the ranch. He dashed past the doorframe and once out in the meadow he shouted with all his joy, "Hey everybody, I'm home!"

His joyful echo spread the entire ranch and within seconds the boy could feel the ground beneath him shake as a cloud of dust formed in the horizon. "Cor! Bulba! Osha! Pig! Tor! Bui! Swe! Toto! Qui!" and the cries of many other familiar Pokémon grew louder as they got closer. Right ahead of Ash's more diverse group of Pokémon was his herd of Tauros and Ash could not be happier to see them.

"Hey you guys, long time no see!" Ash spread his arms out wide for an embrace.

The Tauros cheered loudly and mooed similar to a cow as they charged forward. As Ash kept laughing happily, the ground began to shake more, "I missed you guys!" Ash yelled once the Tauros and his other Pokémon got close enough, but before he could embrace his Tauros they all kept charging forward.

The ground continued shaking as the Tauros ran over Ash, stepping love all over the boy. Even after almost ten years since he first caught them, the Tauros reaction to Ash's arrival had not changed. Once the herd finally passed Ash all that was left was a dust-covered Ash with dazed eyes, "Love you too…" the boy said weakly as he just stared at the sky.

"Muk! King! Herac! Snoooor! Bay! Towl! Don! Torkoal! Glal! Gib! Scrag! Leav!" and the other recognizable cries instantly helped Ash recover and the boy sat up cheerfully.

"Hi everyone!" Ash's eyes glistened when he saw Charizard, Bulbasaur, Kingler, Muk, Snorlax, Heracross, Bayleef, Quilava, Totodile, Noctowl, Donphan, Swellow, Sceptile, Corphish, Torkoal, Glalie, Staraptor, Torterra, Infernape, Buizel, Gliscor, Gible, Unfezant, Oshawott, Pignite, Snivy, Scraggy, Leavanny, Palpitoad, Boldore, and Krookodile

At that moment all of them tackled him down, Bayleef, Bulbasaur, and the other smaller and more affectionate Pokémon nuzzled against Ash while the larger ones cheered for the arrival of their trainer. "I've missed you all so much, how have you been doing?" Ash asked his friends.

They were all so excited they answered at the same time and made the floor vibrate with their excitement. Ash couldn't identify exactly what they said, but the boy laughed with joy. After all that has happened recently he needed this kind of time.

"Oh Ashy boy, always getting ahead of yourself, but it's nice to see you're catching up with your Pokémon," Ash heard Gary's voice and turned around with the Pokémon to see the rest of the group outside as well.

"Seeing them is always the most exciting part about coming back to Pallet," Ash said as he petted Bulbasaur and Quilava while the others continued to nuzzle against him.

Charizard roared happily in the air and breathed out a powerful Flamethrower to celebrate Ash's return. The celebration between trainer and Pokémon continued for a few more moments until the Pokémon realized Pikachu was absent.

"Bulba?" Bulbasaur looked around curiously.

"Phish," Corphish also searched the perimeter.

"Swellow?" Swellow couldn't see Pikachu even from a bird's eyes view.

"Seems like they're searching for Pikachu," Professor Oak stated.

Oak's comment quickly brought Ash's mood down a bit and the other Pokémon noticed immediately. "Sni?" Snivy asked with confusion.

"Dore," Boldore expressed the same confusion and soon, all the others did as well.

"Sorry guys, Pikachu won't be with us today because we had a battle today and it got hurt badly. He's resting inside and will probably rest for the entire night," Ash informed them with a cheerless tone.

All of the Pokémon's expressions became disappointed and Ash easily shared their pain, but he did not want to ruin their cheery moods with such news. The black-haired teen's face quickly lightened up, "Don't worry too much about it though; you'll catch Pikachu first thing in the morning tomorrow. He'll be better by then, right Professor Oak?"

"That's right," Professor Oak nodded cheerfully.

The Pokémon roared in joy once again and then continued to pour out all their love for Ash. Brock, Misty, Gary, Professor Oak, Tracey, and Delia were also more at ease now that Ash appeared happier than before.

Ash could only laugh and smile as his Pokémon tickled him and told him about the adventures they have every time he leaves to another region. His experience every time he came back to see his Pokémon was like every child's dream, one that even his mature friends, Brock, Misty, Gary, and Tracey admired.

At the picnic table they all ate a buffet of delicious, even Ash's Pokémon, who ate around the picnic table and observed the humans. They all ate gleefully, but no one ate as much or as gleefully as Ash did. His talent for eating continued to amaze everyone even his own mother who had been with him since he was just a baby.

Gary rolled his eyes in annoyance much to Ash's other friends amusement and the brunette boy spoke, "Ashy boy, tell us about your adventures in Kalos. What did you see and do besides get badges?"

Ash bit a large piece off a chicken leg and after swallowing it began to speak, "Well I made some friends there. I traveled with them throughout Kalos for a long time and it was a really awesome experience."

"Really?" Misty asked who wasn't actually surprised about this since Ash was always friendly and welcoming person and always made friends wherever he went.

"What are their names?" Brock inquired with interest.

"Their names are Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena. They were really nice, they helped me get a lot stronger and I even learned a thing or two from each of them," Ash spoke kindly about his Kalos friends.

"That's very nice sweetie," Delia smiled over the fact that Ash had enjoyed his Kalos journey.

"Yep, one of the friends I made their, Serena, turned out to be this girl I met once over the summer here in Pallet," Ash told his friends.

"You don't say?" Brock became surprised by the news.

"No kidding, I didn't remember her at first but after some recollection and talking to her enough I managed to remember who she was. She's probably the one who always tried hardest o help me and give me advice whenever I needed it, it was really nice to rediscover a friendship like that," Ash explained to them about his friendship with Serena.

Misty laughed and smirked at him, "I'm actually not all that surprised that you forgot about your friend like that Ash. After all, you do have a tendency to forget your friends since you never bothered calling the Pewter or Cerulean City gyms to see how Brock and I have been doing."

Ash lowered his head and grinned sheepishly, remembering the conversation he previously had with Serena about his friends and forgetfulness. "Yeah I've just gotten so caught up on being a Pokémon Master it always slips my mind, but I always remember you guys and hope you're doing well. I could never possibly forget any of you, especially all you've done for me," Ash expressed the feelings he had for his friends letting them know much he values each and every one of them.

"That's sweet Ash; we love you very much and always talk about you. We value you as much as you value us," Misty hugged the auburn-eyed boy, much to his surprise.

Brock, Gary, and Tracey also got up and placed their hands on Ash's shoulders or back. "That's right Ash, we all care about you deeply," Tracey stated.

"We may not have liked each other but you're my eternal rival, so that makes you my eternal friend as well," Gary told his childhood companion.

"You've always been like another younger brother to me Ash. Mentoring you and traveling you always felt like something extraordinary, all the friends we've made and the all the things we've been through makes me feel like we're a family," Ash's oldest traveling partner told the Pallet boy.

"Thanks guys, you're always in my heart," Ash smiled at all of them while Delia watched with watery eyes and Oak nodded in approval.

When the group of four separated, Gary smirked at Ash and said, "So Ash, I've been eager to see your new Pokémon. How about you show us the other new friends you made."

"Glad to, everyone please welcome them!" Ash got up and caught everyone's attention, including that of all of his Pokémon who became excited to see the new additions to the team.

From Ash's Pokéballs emerged five never before seen Pokémon that left everyone amazed. "Talon!" Talonflame soared into the sky covered in fire like a phoenix.

"Swirl!" a Swirlix jumped happily on the grass when it came out of its ball.

"Gren!" a Greninja somersaulted forward and landed coolly in front of Ash's friends.

"Ches!" a Chesnaught roared when it came out and pounded the floor when it got released.

"Pancham!" a small panda-like Pokémon landed on the ground as smoothly as Greninja and smirked at the people around him.

"Wow," Delia showed her amazement while everyone else was too fascinated to say anything.

"Flame," Talonflame landed beside Ash and gave a calm look to everyone around it.

"Everyone say hello to Talonflame, Swirlix, Greninja, Chesnaught, and Pancham! Talonflame, Swirlix, Greninja, Chesnaught, Pancham, these are all my friends that I've traveled with over the years, say hi!" Ash told his Kalos Pokémon.

Like when greeting Ash, Ash's Pokémon let out a roar of greetings that made the floor vibrate and the Kalos Pokémon were instantly welcomed. Pancham, Chesnaught, Swirlix, and Talonflame easily blended in with all the Pokémon while Greninja coolly saluted everyone. Sceptile, Charizard, Torterra, and Infernape quickly see Greninja and Chesnaught as worthy foes and eye them with interest. Greninja and Chesnaught eyed them as well and saw that the six Pokémon were not very different from each other.

"Looks like those six are already at it," Brock noticed the interaction between Ash's six powerhouse starters.

"Well Greninja does behave similar to Sceptile and Infernape while Chesnaught is similar to Torterra and Charizard," Ash pointed out.

"You've caught some really cute Pokémon Ash," Misty held onto Swirlix and the Fairy-type licked her face while Pancham nuzzled against her chest.

"Those two are pretty mischievous and I met them both when they were causing trouble out in the forest," Ash chuckled.

"I like this Talonflame, this is the definition of a cool flying Pokémon," Gary petted Talonflame for a moment and then let it fly off with Noctowl, Swellow, Staraptor, and Unfezant.

"These are extremely diverse Pokémon Ash; I'm very impressed by all of the Pokémon you caught in Kalos. Chesnaught, the Grass-type starter, Greninja, the Water-type starter, Talonflame, the Fire-type bird, Pancham, the Fighting-type panda, and Swirlix, the Fairy-type," Professor Oak successfully identified the types of each of Ash's new Pokémon.

"Fairy-type?" Brock asked with a surprised look.

"There's another type of Pokémon?" Tracey inquired with astonishment.

"Fairy-types are extremely rare. I was just as surprised as you guys when I found out. Apparently they are so rare, the only place you're guaranteed to find them with ease is Kalos," Ash petted his trusty Swirlix.

"They are also quite powerful Pokémon. Their power capabilities are on par with those of the Dragon-type," Professor Oak informed them.

"Wow, Fairy-types are an interesting bunch, not to mention cute," Misty rubbed her cheek against Swirlix.

Ash's admiration for the Pokémon around him continued until he caught eye of the sun along with everyone else. When Professor Oak saw the sunset he snapped out his train of thought and spoke, "It's almost nighttime everyone. We should return inside. I'm sure the Pokémon would like to have their space back and get to personally know the Kalos Pokémon."

"Right," the group nodded in agreement. That's when Ash prepared to say bye to his Pokémon, but promised he'd return tomorrow, which easily excited them.

* * *

May placed her long-sleeved blue gloves for the event as she looked at herself in the mirror. She spun around several times and giggled, for some reason it always felt fun to spin around like that. When she stopped to look at herself again, she blushed again to notice how developed she was physically. Her legs were practically exposed by the dress and she turned light red as she remembered the multiple times men had complimented her attractive legs, but that wasn't all. She had also developed quite a bit in some other areas. Her chest wasn't exactly large like other celebrities who did surgery and all that stuff she considered nonsense, but it was still something that caught the eyes of many much to her annoyance. When she reached 10 she remembered having that conversation with her mom, the fact that she had been developing faster than other girls. 8 years later, May didn't know if having such a developed chest was a good or bad thing. At the moment it seemed like a bad thing due to the many eyes that aimed below her face. Other parts of her body also developed and made her even more physically attractive, but May chose not to think about it any further, she had to hurry and get ready.

"Let's see what am I missing?" May stared up at the ceiling as she tried to remember and noticed the brightness emitting from her light. She snapped her fingers and said, "Oh that's right!"

She rushed to one of her closets and searched on the top shelf for the thing she was missing. Ash she moved her hand left and right, up and down she accidentally made a small piece of paper fall. "Huh, what's this?" May picked up the piece of paper and flipped it around to see that it was a picture of Drew.

At that abrupt moment she felt her heart begin to swell and the brunette started to frown. She shook her head sideways as she prepared to fight back any tears and without even looking at the picture she ripped it in half and threw it aside. May opened her eyes once again and took a deep breath.

She wiped away any water in her eyes and whispered to herself, "Come on May get it together."

She continued searching for the thing she was missing and luckily managed to find. She held tight onto the metallic part of the object and once she opened her palm to take a look at it, a smile traveled across her face. It was the half of a cute ribbon she had been given by her mother a while ago. The centerpiece was made of gold and its stripes were pink and white.

When her mother had first given it to her she remembered Caroline telling her that it was Max who actually wanted May to have it. Her mom told her that Max said it was a good luck charm and it is guaranteed to help her whenever she was in a dire situation. Ever since that day, May carried it wherever she went and like Max said, every time she had felt lost, sad, or lonely, the ribbon always gave her strength.

She placed the ribbon over her heart and closed her eyes. For a few seconds she stood there like a statue and then opened her eyes. She walked over to her desk and checked to see if there was anything else she needed. She looked up at the mirror in front of her and saw the pictures of two beloved people, her brother and Brock. It had been a while since she talked to both, but every time she remembered them she experienced sweet and unforgettable memories.

The girl kissed her middle and index fingers and placed them on the photos of Max and Brock. Her eyes then turned to another image; it was a dark photo with a figure in a fedora hat dancing in the shadows. At the bottom of the image there were some words written in script that read "Smile though your heart is aching".

May eyed the image with tenderness and smiled. She looked at herself in the mirror one more time and nodded. Tonight she would make audiences cheer and smile with a fantastic performance while demonstrating how strong her bond with her Pokémon truly is.

* * *

As Ash finished cleaning a plate he looked up at the clock and his eyes widened. He turned to Misty and spoke, "Misty, I'm sorry for leaving you with all these dishes but there's something important I have to watch on TV!" With that said Ash dashed out of the kitchen.

The moment she saw Ash leave she didn't know what the heck just happened, she tried to recollect what he said. She also tried to ask him what he was doing but he didn't even give her the time to ask that. After a few more seconds of recalling what just happened she realized she got stuck with all the dishes now and stomped the floor in anger, "Ash Ketchum you'll do anything to avoid washing dishes won't you!" The Cerulean Gym Leader didn't care who heard her or what they thought, she was upset about being abandoned with dishes left to clean.

"Hey Misty what's all the screaming about?" Brock came into the kitchen.

"That Ash left me washing all the dishes. That's what all the screaming is about!" Misty said in frustration.

_Just like old times, _Brock chuckled. "Do you know why he might have left in such a rush?"

"No clue, I didn't hear him correctly and he didn't even give me the chance to ask him to repeat it," Misty crossed her arms.

"Hmmmm," Brock thought and then his eyes turned to the clock. When he saw the time he felt a realization hit him, "Hey they're about to show May's exhibition match!"

"That's today?!" Misty had forgotten about it completely.

"Do you think that's why Ash might have left?" Brock questioned.

"We won't know until we found out, come on Brock!" Misty became excited and ran out of the kitchen with Brock following right behind her.

The pair quickly darted to the living room with the TV and not surprisingly there was Ash with everyone else. "Ash, why did you leave in such a hurry?" Misty shouted at him, alarming the boy that instant.

"Misty, I'm so sorry! Please don't get mad and hit me!" Ash gave her a look that begged for mercy.

Misty rolled her eyes and sighed, "We're not 10 anymore Ash, why would I hit you for that?"

Ash quickly stopped fearing Misty and thought about it for a second, "I guess you're right…"

"Glad to see I'm not the only one getting frustrated by Ash's erratic behavior," Gary complained from the couch.

"What did he do?" Brock inquired.

"He just barged in here and changed the news to this coordinator battle," Gary sighed.

Brock raised his eyebrow when he heard Gary, but chose not to say anything. "Excuse me for wanting to see a friend of mine battle it out against a Water-type Gym Leader."

"Oh that's right!" Tracey realized the coordinator battle Ash was referring too.

"How could we have forgotten?" Professor Oak also realized the same thing.

"Of course, May is performing one of her shows today, how lovely!" Delia said with delight in her voice.

At this point Brock became curious and asked Ash, "Hey Ash, how did you know today was May's exhibition match?"

"I saw a poster of it hung up on this store on my way here," Ash recalled the run through Pallet Town earlier in the day.

"Oh I am so excited! May always puts up such fantastic shows and is always participating in charity events!" Delia continued to talk sweetly about May.

"We're lucky to call her our friend. It's not every day you call a mega celebrity your friend," Misty remembered her experiences with the gentle brunette.

Ash became slowly overwhelmed by how all of his friends seem to know that May was a celebrity so couldn't help but ask his mom, "Hey mom, how long have you known that May was a celebrity?"

Delia looked at him with surprise, "She was already a rising star by the time you set out to Kalos sweetie why?"

"Hey Ash, I thought you stayed in contact with May since you guys saw each other in Sinnoh" Misty told him.

Ash felt an increasing amount of guilt grow inside him and the boy sighed, "No…I haven't. It wasn't until after the Kalos conference that I found out how huge May had become."

When he heard Ash's comment, Brock felt a cold breeze go through his spine and the spiky-haired friend gulped. "Ash, you're kidding. Isn't May one of your closest friends from everyone tells me? How did you not know what she has been up to, especially now that she's a mega super star," Gary criticized Ash for the same thing Serena had criticized him.

Everyone in the room seemed pretty surprised that Ash had failed to stay in contact with May, but no one chose to say anything about it. "I was…just busy I guess," Ash had no real argument to excuse his carelessness.

Gary sighs and shrugged his shoulders, not bothering to argue with Ash. As everyone in the room focused their eyes on the television, they noticed that the match was about to begin.

"Coming from left is Hoenn's treasured Sootopolis Gym Leader, Juan. Please welcome our dear veteran coordinator as he promises to put up one magnificent show for all of us tonight!" the host welcomed Juan to the stage. The Water-type trainer waved happily at the audience and blew kisses at many of the women. Even after more than five years, Juan's popularity remained at its prime as Brock and Ash noticed.

"And now please welcome Hoenn's other magnificent treasured star. She is known as the coordinator with sapphire eyes, the queen of coordinating, a prodigy at everything that she does. She is considered one of the world's most beautiful stars and is the Princess of Hoenn. She's been on the cover of magazines none stop for the last two years, everyone please welcome the lovely May!" the host gave a lengthy introduction about May before welcoming the brunette who walked out into the spotlight while waving at everyone sight.

Ash's eyes widened when he saw May and couldn't believe his eyes. He was watching May live on television and she was dressed in a blue outfit similar to one Misty had worn long away for magician except in white. Every second he watched May he slowly realized how beautiful May looked in the dress and he also realized just how beautiful she truly became. Behind that entire spotlight May received, Ash could still see the coordinator retained her innocent beauty. May's delicate face remained unchanged, but he couldn't help and notice she developed an extremely attractive figure that even caught Gary and Tracey's attention. His auburn eyes moved from May's legs to her eyes and Ash still remained awestruck. Ash's eyes then turned to the audience, they were all jumping, blowing kisses at her, yelling her name, and fainting at the sight of her, especially men. Everyone in the room was absolutely surprised as they continued watching May. The sapphire-eyed girl continued waving and blowing kisses at the audience and the camera, but that was the last thing on Ash's mind. What was really banging Ash's head was _I can't believe this is the same person I mentored so many years ago. _

**Chapter 2 folks, hope you enjoyed it. There was more stuff revealed about the plot. There are obviously some major problems going on with Ash and May that we will eventually have to deal with later on. We also explored more of May's celebrity life and how Ash is taking it. I guess you could consider this the second part of the intro because in the following chapters we'll start to focus on Ash's letter. By the way, I'm saying it now so no one is panicking later. THERE IS NO POKESHIPPING, AMOURSHIPPING, OR ANY KIND OF SHIPPING WITH ASH THAT DOESN'T INVOLVE MAY. I can't say the same about Contestshipping though; I really hope I don't have to use that card. For now let's just say we won't hear from Drew until much later. Another thing I wanted to let you guys know is, I'm thinking about making an AMV about Ash and May obviously. There's a poll about it on my page for more details go there and check it out, make sure to vote. Anyways, remember TO REVIEW, PM, ETC, FEEDBACK IS ALWAYS WELCOMED. Thanks guys and stay tuned for Chapter 3, till then! **


	3. Don't Stop Til You Get Enough

Chapter 3: Keep on with the Force

After the introductions and greetings, May reached for Pokéball while flashing a sly grin at Juan. "May, you've come such a long way since I first met you. It is my honor battle you on this momentous day, show me the skills of the world's future greatest Pokémon Coordinator," Juan spread out his arms with a Pokéball in his right hand.

"Let's give it our best Juan. I know I'm going to enjoy this," May smiled and threw her Pokéball.

"Blaz!" Blaziken burst out of the Pokéball and stared at Juan with a cool expression.

"A Fire-type, you must have some sort of trick up your sleeve if you're going to fight me with Blaziken," Juan smirked and threw his Pokéball, "Go Milotic!"

"Mi!" Milotic cried out as it appeared on the battlefield.

"Battlers you may begin!" the host announced.

May and Juan smiled at each other confidently and the first moves were made, "Milotic, use Twister!"

"Milo!" Milotic cried out softly and begun to spin its tail rapidly until a thick twister formed. "Let it rip!" Juan commanded.

"Blaziken do your 360 degree Fire Spin!" May ordered and the audience suddenly cheered with excitement. Apparently everyone appeared to know what would follow. "Ken!" Blaziken began to spin at a rapid speed and as it did, it released a thick Fire Spin that enveloped its body. Thanks to the speed of Blaziken's spinning, the Fire Spin grew to the same height as Milotic's Twister and the flames became incredibly thick.

"Release it!" May instructed.

"Blaziken!" Blaziken halted its spinning and lunged forward as its fire twister charged at Twister.

Blaziken's fire twister clashed with Twister and not surprisingly, the powerful spinning flamed Milotic's Twister. Juan raised an eyebrow in response and spoke, "You may have stopped Twister, but do you really believe that twister of flames will hurt my Milotic. I can easily exterminate right now."

"You think that?" May smirked at the Gym Leader.

Juan chuckled and nodded, "Milotic, extinguish that flame with Hydro Pump!"

"Go Blaziken!" May exclaimed and Juan's eyes widened with surprise. As Milotic prepared Hydro Pump, Blaziken shot out from the fire twister with its talon glowing blue and darting right towards the Water-type.

"Mega Kick!" May extended her arm out to the left.

Blaziken's superior speed didn't allow Milotic to build up a Hydro Pump and in the blink of an eye the Fighting-type kicked the Tender Pokémon's face with full force. The power of the kick was so powerful it sent Milotic crashing against the floor while squealing pain.

"Milotic!" Juan said with surprise.

"Use Flamethrower!" May prevented Juan and Milotic from preparing a counterstrike.

"Milotic, Hydro Pump!" the Gym Leader shouted out with all his might.

Blaziken built up fire and blasted the fiery move with a great speed, "Ken!" the Blaze Pokémon shouted as the fire shot right for Milotic.

"Miiiiiiii!" Milotic had been lucky enough to make a comeback and with the energy it had released the powerful Water-type move, easily canceling out the Fire-type and continued moving forward.

A dense cloud of steam formed as a result of the water and fire collision, which became something of a good sign for May and the girl smirked. "Blaziken, counter Hydro Pump with Focus Blast!" May planned her next move.

"Blaaaaaz," Blaziken formed a sphere of blue energy in its hand and then fired it as soon as Hydro Pump got close enough, "Blaziken!" the fighter threw Focus Blast when Hydro Pump was only inches away. The impact of the two super attacks was so strong that it formed a cloud of smoke that mixed with the cloud of steam.

Juan grinded his teeth as the clouds became a problem for his vision and a chill crawled down his spine once he heard May's next move, "Brave Bird!" At that sudden moment Juan order Milotic to fire a Hydro Pump, but the water attack only went through the clouds and appeared to hit nothing.

The result confused everyone and all of a sudden, Blaziken jetted out from the right side of the cloud with a blue energy surrounding it and the Fire-type charged at Milotic with phenomenal speed. As Blaziken dashed at a speed that produced afterimages, the blue energy enveloping took the shape of what resembled an eagle.

"Unbelievable!" Juan gasped at the surprise.

"Blaz!" Blaziken bashed Milotic and sent her flying as he continued to fly like a jet for a bit longer and then made a sudden halt as Milotic began to come down.

"Milotic regain your composure and slam the floor with Iron Tail!" Juan improvised for his next move.

May raised an eyebrow and Blaziken became alert as they saw Milotic regain its composure and then its tail turned into iron. Seconds before landing it swung its tail and then slammed it against the floor causing the entire ground to shake and Blaziken got sent flying into the air. "Marvelous," Juan chuckled.

"Keeeeen!" Blaziken winced in pain as it flew into the air while May gasped.

* * *

"Didn't see that one coming," Misty watched the battle attentively.

"I'm just amazed Juan's Milotic can still fight after two devastating hits," Gary commented.

"Now it looks as though Juan has made a comeback with that technique he pulled off," Tracey eyed the television with great interest.

"Do you think May can still win this?" Delia inquired Professor Oak.

"Positive," Professor Oak responded, but Brock explained the reason why.

"May suffered a critical hit with that last one, but she has complete control over the battle. Milotic is more bruised than Blaziken is at the moment and thanks its superior speed and physical strength it's been a problem for Juan since the start. Plus, May seems to have tricky cards up her sleeve since she often relies on diversions and combinations to attack her opponent," Brock gave an explanation as to why May was the superior battler.

"C'mon May, you've got this," Ash whispered and clenched his fists. He could see May yelling to Blaziken and ordering to pull itself together and noticed the smirk on Juan's face. Suddenly, he heard Juan's command that caused his eyes to widen in surprise. "Recover," Ash heard the word come from the T.V.

"Uh-oh," Gary said and the others also became as alarmed.

"May, hurry you have to do something. If Milotic recovers you'll lose your chance!" Ash got up from his seat and shouted at the television.

Everyone got taken back by Ash's sudden burst and May said with a surprised tone, "Ash take it easy it's not like she can hear you, besides we know that May is good enough to find a way to turn the tables on Juan."

Ash stopped his yelling and blushed a bit from embarrassment, "You're right, sorry about that." The auburn-eyed teen chuckled nervously and sat back down, but as bright energy began to appear around Milotic he hoped May had something store.

"Milotic is healing!" Tracey stated as Milotic's wounds began to disappear.

_May you can do it, have faith in yourself. If you get in sync with your Pokémon like before you'll recover your strength and get the victory over Milotic, I know it; _Ash gritted his teeth as he thought in his head.

"Double Fire Blast, go!" the gang heard May say as Blaziken regained its composure and fired two Fire Blast within ten seconds while Milotic recovered.

"What does she intend to do with Fire Blast?" Gary raised an eyebrow.

"We're about to find out," Brock said sternly and much to the viewers' amazement, the Fire Blast connected to each other and caged Milotic. The trick took Juan and the audience off guard, but Gary and Misty remained unimpressed.

"Why would May do that? I mean can't Milotic easily break out of a fire cage with its water moves?" Misty asked.

"Exactly, it makes no sense," Gary added.

"I believe May knows that, but she knows Juan will not risk it. Remember what happened the last time their fire and water attacks collided," Brock recalled what happened earlier in the battle and then so did everyone else. If Milotic used Hydro Pump another cloud of steam would be created and since Blaziken's senses were far better, it would give May the advantage.

_Nice job May, _Ash smiled proudly and knew May had Juan cornered now.

* * *

"Blaziken let Milotic have it with a Focus Blast!" May demanded.

"Blaz!" Blaziken built up power for Focus Blast at a rapid rate and then threw the powerful move right at Milotic who was still immobile because of the fire cage.

Juan grinded his teeth and knew he had to risk it, there was no choice. If Milotic escaped then at least the chance of avoiding Blaziken would be higher, Juan had no choice but to do what his gut told him. "Milotic, escape with Hydro Pump!" as quick as Juan said it Milotic fired the water move and created a dense cloud of steam and like a snake slithered away from danger as Focus Blast burst on contact with the floor.

A bright light and loud explosion got created by Focus Blast once it hit the ground and Juan became relieved of how things had turned out, but May chuckled at the sight. Blaziken easily sniffed out Milotic and heard its movements, through the dense steam Blaziken heard May's next time command and in a second jolted towards Milotic.

"Milotic wherever you are begin to fire Hydro Pump to repel that Pokémon!" Juan became desperate.

"Enhance your speed with Quick Attack!" May extended her arm forward.

"Blaziken!" Blaziken could see Milotic now through the steam and as the Tender Pokémon prepared to repel it with Hydro Pump, the Fire-type got in the snake-like Pokémon's face and delivered a Sky Uppercut that sent Milotic flying straight up to the ceiling.

The force of the uppercut had been so strong it sent Milotic crashing against the metallic ceiling and it squealed in pain as it began to drop as fast as it shot upward. "Finish it with Brave Bird!" May instructed and before Milotic could even see what was going on, Blaziken had already taken off and the blue energy surrounding it took the shape of a blue fiery phoenix.

Blaziken bashed through Milotic and moved upward like a bullet as Milotic dropped to the ground. The Fire-type suffered heavy damage from recoil, but it was still strong enough to halt itself and coolly drop back to the ground. Milotic however, touched the ground with swirl eyes and a body covered in bruises.

"Milotic is no longer able to battle, therefore, not surprisingly, our champions are May and Blaziken!" the host declared happily before May even realized her victory.

The crowd erupted into joyful frenzy and they blew kisses at May, hung their posters high, whistled at her, screamed her name, and even fainted over her victory. Blaziken turned its eyes to May and the brunette gave it a thumbs up and a sweet smile, "You never fail me Blaziken, awesome job."

"Ken," Blaziken had a tired expression on, but it mustered enough energy to give her a thumbs up as well and smile proudly.

"Milotic you did well, rest now," Juan recalled his strongest Water-type. His eyes shifted from his Pokéball to May and he grinned, "You really have grown May, it was an honor to share this battle with you."

"I'm happy we got to do this too," May responded and smiled at him. Juan flashed one last grin at her and left the battlefield quietly.

"May, how does it feel to have beaten Hoenn's strongest gym leader with such prowess. You never fail to disappoint anyone May. Today you were just as magnificent, beautiful, strong, talented, and undefeated as you have been at previous events. Tell us; what is your secret to your success in battling and coordinating?" the host placed the microphone near her mouth.

May smiled softly at the camera and spoke, "Thank you for the lovely compliments sir. If you really want to what makes me keep going the way I have been, you should probably listen carefully. Some time ago I learned to repeat to myself that whenever my Pokémon and I are completely in sync we'll both start to go after our victories with even more power. So it's just the bond between my Pokémon and I that has made us what we currently are."

"Those are some wise words May, I just wish I had heard them when I started my adventure," the host laughed and then looked at the camera, "Well folks that is it for tonight. You saw it here and live, the Queen of Pokémon Coordinating remains undefeated and as attractive since she first got under the spotlight. CBS would like to wish you the best and have a good night," the host said as the camera shifted to the audience.

Meanwhile, when May had given her brief speech of wisdom to the camera a boy with raven hair and auburn eyes had just kept smiling at the television even after the camera moved away from May. Ash did not jump and down, he did not cheer, he did not yell, he was simply smiling, he was proud.

* * *

**Later...**

"Give me a break, I haven't even gotten dressed or even healed Blaziken," May complained to one of her bodyguards as they walked through the empty halls.

"The Queen is a very strict person. I don't think it would go well for you if you arrived late to Arrowroot Palace. Her grandson is also very eager to catch your performance," the bodyguard explained to her.

"I know I have to be there on time and I respect the royal family. I just think the well-being of my Pokémon come first and I can't greet the queen in this silly outfit," May continued to argue with the bodyguard.

The bodyguard sighed, "You can change on the jet and healing you're Pokémon will just have to wait. Royalty simply doesn't like to wait; it's just how the world turns."

"I've become over a patient person over the years, but this is ridiculous," May became annoyed with the bodyguard's indifference.

"Just please get ready for your flight," the bodyguard got slightly annoyed and walked away while May stayed behind in surprise, she found this treatment unbelievable.

The brunette frowned with frustration and opened the door to her room violently. In seconds she snatched all her important belongings, grabbed her suitcase and put on her simple black trench coat. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have her usual shoes around and had to walk to around in black high heels. Luckily after enough practice she was able to walk with them like if walking with regular shoes but she still preferred regular shoes over heels when it wasn't a special occasion.

She made sure she got all her Pokémon, her half of the Terracotta Ribbon, her photos, and clothes. With that checked off she shut the door with annoyance and prepared to exit the building.

As she walked towards the exit, she saw her bodyguards standing there and she noticed flashing. When she walked through that doorframe she wasn't surprised to find outside filled with photographers and fans. The fans screamed her name with excitement and the photographers took as many pictures as they could. At any moment May feared they would trample her if it weren't for her bodyguards that provided protection.

"May we love you!" a group of girls yelled.

"Marry me May!" a man shouted and hung up a sign that said "marry me".

Many of her fans stretched out their arms and May smiled at them. "I love all of you too!" May tried to smile for all of them and shook their hands gave them high fives. She could feel some were a bit reluctant to let go of her, but May was able to keep going forward towards the limo. Some more eccentric fans threw papers at her with phone numbers and addresses.

"Call me May, my name is Peter!" another boy yelled and she tried to embrace the brunette in a hug, but the bodyguards got in his way and got pushed back.

As May got closer to the limo she looked back and saw how interesting the setting was. In front of her towered Nimbasa's giant sports stadium with crowds of fans just waiting to make contact with her, sometimes she couldn't even believe she was living this life.

Her eyes suddenly caught a little girl who had managed to get through the herd of people and noticed the girl tapping one of the bodyguards. As May listened through the noise she could hear the little girl say, "Excuse me sir, I'm a big fan of May. May I please take a picture of her, she's so pretty! My mommy even let me borrow phone, please, May makes me happy every time I see her perform and win!" the excited girl begged the bodyguard to let her take a photo of the celebrity.

"Sorry kid, May has no time for that, try again next time," the bodyguard basically told her to take a hike.

As they were now just a step away from the limo, the little girl lowered her head and May heard her say, "Oh….." in sadness. May didn't always give in to a teenager or an adult's demands, but she had a soft spot for children in the same way she had a soft spot for Pokémon. She could never reject a child's request and this time it was no different.

As the bodyguards opened the door for May the brunette called the little girl, "Hi excuse me, little girl!"

May's voice caused the girl to lift her head up and her eyes brightened when she saw her idol standing just a two feet away and calling her over. "Hello there little one, what's your name," May kneeled down to the girl's height.

"May, you're talking to me, but I'm just a normal person!" the girl ran over to the celebrity and began to talking to her.

May giggled and grinned at her kindly, "Don't say that now. We're all special in our ways, but we're all the same at heart. For example you remind me of when I was a little girl and use to have craze for this music artist."

"Really, you behaved just like me? You're my idol May!" the little girl jumped up and down happily.

The brunette placed her hand on the girl's cheek and spoke, "That's very sweet of you to say….." May tried to finish the sentence with the girl's name.

"Paris," the little girl responded.

"That's a pretty name Paris. How would you like to take a picture with me?" May questioned the child.

"I would love that!" Paris cheered gleefully.

"Well c'mon," May grabbed the girl's hand and brought her into her limo. Paris instantly became astonished by how much space the limo had and all the entertainment it had, but her mind easily shifted to May when she talked.

"Do you have a phone?" May asked as she made Paris comfy next to her.

"Yep, my mommy let me borrow it just this once!" the green-eyed girl showed her the phone.

"Perfect, now just position yourself really close to me," May moved Paris a bit closer to her and made sure the camera of the phone was positioned right.

"Say cheese Paris," May told the girl with a soft tone.

"Cheeeeeese," Paris formed a smile as beautiful as May's. May also smiled at the camera and took the photo. May looked at the photo and giggled, "How did it come out?" Paris inquired.

"It came out lovely," May handed her the phone and Paris's eyes shined liker stars when she saw the picture of her and May.

"We look like angels!" Paris shouted, causing May to giggle.

"You look more like one," May told Paris and the girl smiled adorably. May's sapphire eyes turned to the crowd of people still trying to peek inside her limo and the brunette sighed.

"Is something wrong?" Paris inquired with an adorable voice.

May snapped out of her thoughts and grinned at Paris, "No nothing is wrong sweetie. Now you should probably head back to your mom before she gets worried."

"Ok I will!" Paris leaped out of the car.

"It was nice meeting you Paris," May took one last stare at the short beautiful green-eyed girl.

"You too May, I want to as nice, beautiful, and funny as you are when I grow up and use my money to help others like I see you do in the magazines all the time!" Paris told the brunette.

May didn't know what to say and the best she could pull off was a smile. "Goodbye," the coordinator said softly.

"Bye May, I love you!" Paris said once more and then dashed off.

May immediately closed the door and just thought, _if only the experience could be like that every day. _

* * *

"When Blaziken popped out from the right side using Brave Bird it was amazing. She had Juan completely off guard!" Ash commented with excitement in his voice.

"Ash you mentioned that like three times already," Misty whined.

"At least he hasn't mentioned it as much as when May ordered the finishing move," Gary complained.

"Yeah, I mean no offense Ash, but we saw the whole thing too," Tracey chuckled and smiled sheepishly.

Ash stopped his constant blabbing at that moment and suddenly realized he had killed 15 minutes just talking about May. He sighed and grinned sheepishly at his friends, "Yeah, you're right guys, sorry."

"C'mon you three, let's give Ash a break. I mean I was pretty amazed by May's performance too," Brock came into Ash's defense.

"It was astonishing, there's no denying that," Professor Oak chuckled as he crossed his arms.

"May looked as lovely as always," Delia said with a cheery tone.

"Looks like training under Wallace really increased her skills, wouldn't you agree Ash?" Brock inquired his friend.

When Ash heard Brock say "training under" he quickly remembered the time he had mentored May and experienced a strange feeling inside him for a second. The raven-haired boy smiled and nodded, "Yeah, May has definitely come a long way."

"Indeed, her family must be incredibly proud of her, I know I am," Professor Oak reminisced of when he first met Ash's friend.

Ash nodded in agreement once again, but somehow his eyes drifted to the clock and noticed that it was almost 9. The auburn-eyed boy yawned and received raised eyebrows from almost everyone. "You tired honey?" Delia questioned her son.

Ash wiped away the water in his eyes from yawning and shook his head, "Yeah I actually am, but it's early."

"You should probably head home sweetie. I still have to stay a bit longer and help clean the dishes with Professor Oak," Ash's mom told him.

"Alright mom," Ash responded.

"Well if you're going to leave now then I guess this is goodbye Ash," Misty got up.

Ash raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"I have to leave early tomorrow to reach Cerulean City. A gym can't maintain itself ya know. We probably won't see each other again until you come back from another region and that's not even a guarantee," Misty said to the boy.

"Same goes for me Ashy boy except I have to head to Vermillion City," Gary informed Ash.

Ash became a bit disappointed about the sudden goodbye to Misty and Gary, but he knew they had their own dreams to follow. "Goodbye guys, I'm really hoping to see you guys next time," Ash shook hands with his two old friends.

"Us too Ash, take care of yourself," Misty shook Ash's hand and gave him a caring gaze.

"Good luck on your next journey Ashy boy, I'll be rooting for ya," Gary shook hands with his former rival.

"Thanks you too," Ash smiled at them as he shook each of their hands.

"I'll still be here tomorrow morning Ash, so you don't have to worry about saying bye to me," Brock told his longtime friend.

"That's good to know," Ash grinned at his friends.

"We'll see you tomorrow my boy, good night," Professor Oak bid farewell to Ash.

"Take care Ash, catch you tomorrow," Tracey waved goodbye to Ash.

"Bye everyone, take care!" Ash grabbed his backpack and with that said we darted off the room as he dashed to the entrance of the laboratory.

"My son is so full of energy," Delia giggled.

"We still don't know if that's a good or bad thing," Misty teased and the room broke into laughter, all of them thinking fondly of Ash.

As Ash walked through the quiet and empty streets of Pallet Town he found himself extremely lonely without Pikachu. "At least you'll be ok by tomorrow pal," Ash spoke to himself as he thought of his friend.

While walking Ash also found himself easily becoming bored and begun to think of May's battle as a way of distracting himself. As he recollected all of the moves and tricks May pulled off he became analytical and thought of how much stronger, smarter, faster, and skilled his friend had become.

Those thoughts however, quickly turned into thoughts about the letter. He placed his hands behind his head and began to speak, "Could I write something about May getting so strong in the letter. I mean I could write about how she's shown a bunch of new abilities and talk about the success she's created for herself. She's gotten so far in life they call her Princess of Hoenn or Queen of Pokémon Coordinating." As he thought it carefully though, Ash became unconvinced by thought.

"When I think about it though, it doesn't exactly sound right. I feel like it could make it more personal and talk about all our adventures together and compare it…to what she does now?" Ash still seemed unconvinced. "I still don't feel like that's the kind of thing I want to write. It doesn't feel enough," Ash sighed as he still failed to find the right energy for the letter.

He placed his hand on his chin, "What was it that Serena said at the airport. What should I include in the letter?" Ash recalled the last conversation he had with Serena.

_You'll figure it out; _Ash recalled Serena's words and let out a deep breath of annoyance. He hung his head low and mumbled, "I wish I had gotten an answer that wasn't as vague as that one at least."

Out of frustration Ash reached into the pocket of his top and pulled out the half of his Terracotta Ribbon. He raised it near the moonlight and saw how beautiful it shined. The boy then found himself remembering of the moment he had won it with May. It was one of his most memorable battles and the ribbon was easily one of his most treasured items. He turned it back and forth and as he stared at the centerpiece, for some reason images of May seemed to be reflected. He lowered and smiled, _I should probably stop thinking about May and the letter for now, my tiredness is making me see things. _Ash raised his head and grinned at the moon and stars, the only word coming out of his mouth, "May…"

* * *

May stared at the night sky from the window of her room and sighed. For some reason just staring at all those stars and the moon made her sigh, it did cheer up her mood at all. She walked over to her bed and threw herself on top of it. "At least I'm finally in contact with a bed," May said as she rested on it.

At least she had finally finished her day and healed Blaziken. Now she was just relaxing in a hotel room until tomorrow morning when she would have to repeat the same old, tiring cycle. After having to battle with Juan and perform for rich elite royal snobs like the Queen of Arrowroot Town, May was clearly tuckered out. As she pulled down her giant yellow shirt down to cover her panties, she made herself comfortable under the covers. The one good thing that came out of today was meeting Paris; she just wished it happened more often.

The only thing that saddened her about Paris was her desire to be like May. _Being famous isn't as fun as it's made out to be after all. What I wouldn't do to travel like I did with Brock and Max, those were the days. _

She stared at the ceiling and took a deep breath, _may be one day I'll be able to experience that again. I had to grow up to fast after winning the Johto Grand Festival. When I won that tournament I was still a teen, but the second after receiving that trophy I became forced to become an adult. It's almost like the world strip me of my youth…_May thought with sadness going through her mind. _If only I could go back in time and prevent myself from ever getting involved with the celebrity life. I was a fool to think it was all about traveling the world with my Pokémon and meeting new people and places. _

_ Having people boss you around and having to constantly train my Pokémon to the point of fainting is not what I had in mind. The photo shoots, the press, the gossip, I hate it all. I'm so stupid, what have I done! _May dug her face in a pillow and quietly began to wet it with tears.

* * *

Ash could not understand where all the snow had come from or as to where he was. The snow was so heavy he couldn't see more than a foot away. It was also extremely cold, but the only thought recurring through his mind was where he could be.

"I need to find my way out of here," Ash walked slowly as the icy wind threatened to freeze him.

It was pointless though, he felt as though he would never find the way out if he just kept walking. For all Ash knew, he might just be getting even more lost. Eventually the boy got desperate and began to yell, "Helloooooo is anybody out there!"

He waited for a response for several seconds, but the only response was the howl of the wind. Ash sighed and tried yelling one more time, "I'm lost and don't know my way back. Is anyone out there?"

All of a sudden, the shadow of a boy appeared in the snow and Ash's face lightened up with relief. As the shadow got closer and his appearance became clearer, Ash raised his eyebrows in confusion. The person in front of him was no older than he; however, the alarming thing about this person was how much he looked like him.

The only differences between them were the clothes and eye color. While Ash's eyes were auburn, his were red…His facial expression also made him seem stern almost cold.

Ash wondered who this person was and why he looked so much like him, but there were more important things to worry about at the moment. "Hi, I got lost and I can't find my way back," Ash said to the figure.

"The only way out is by facing your demons," the raven-haired person responded coldly.

Ash raised an eyebrow and spoke, "I'm sorry, what?"

The figure reached for a Pokéball, "Battle me."

Ash frowned, "Are you kidding me? I'm freezing and I don't even have any of my Pokémon on me."

"That's a shame," the figure said with a stern voice and released a Pokémon.

Ash's eyes widened when he saw the Pokémon and he took a few steps back. The round giant towered over him and even though Ash knew they were lazy Pokémon, he was still aware of the power these Pokémon contained. "What's the big idea; I said I don't have Pokémon to battle with!" Ash gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"That is your problem…Snorlax, use Hyper Beam," the trainer pointed his finger at him.

"Stop!" Ash yelled at him.

"Snor…laaaaaax!" the Normal-type shouted and fired a red beam of energy.

Without any time to even respond, Ash's eyes widened with fear as he felt his entire body disappear.

"No!" Ash sat up on his bed and gasped for air as he felt his entire body sweating. He looked around and noticed that he was in his room, it was still dark and the boy let out a sigh of relief when he realized he was still at home.

* * *

May's alarm rang and she sat up with a groan. Her eyes were still heavy and when she managed to take a look at the time, she appeared aggravated. The clock read 5:00 am, "Time to work," May sighed and prepared for another fatiguing day.

**Another chapter showing who May is these days and what she does with her life, I hope you liked it. Not much going on with Ash, but don't worry we'll get to that. In case if any of you are wondering, the dream part of the chapter will not be something like the majestic 12. It has nothing to do with super villains or powerful opponents appearing in the future, the dream has a more important purpose than that. Remember to please REVIEW, PM, ETC, GUYS FEEDBACK IS ALWAYS WELCOMED. I really do hope you liked it, especially the scene with May and Paris, I know that was my favorite part. Anyways, have a Merry Christmas guys, I wish you the best over the holidays and don't hesitate to contact me if anything. By the way, if you haven't checked out my Advanceshipping video, make sure you do, you might like it. Thanks again everyone, I hope you get everything you deserved on this fine Christmas. Catch ya later!**


	4. Morphine

Chapter 4: Go On Baby

"Hey that's not fair guys; I'm supposed to tag you!" Ash laughed as he tried to run from Pikachu and his other Pokémon. To celebrate Pikachu's recovery and the complete reunion between the friends, for almost the entire morning and afternoon, Ash, Pikachu, and the other Pokémon have been playing games nonstop and created an atmosphere of enjoyment and fun.

The Pokémon all yelled back at and disregarded the rules for the game of tag. "How did this game turn from Tag to Assault on Ash?" Ash tried to outrun them, but knew he couldn't for long.

Pikachu, Quilava, Totodile, Bulbasaur, Bayleef, and many of his other Pokémon continued chasing Ash simply because they thought it would be fun tackling their trainer all at once. As usual though, it'd be Ash's clever Bulbasaur who would think of a way to stop Ash, "Bulba!" Bulbasaur smirked and released a vine that grabbed Ash by his foot.

"Guys, sto-," Ash failed to finish when he felt something wrap around his foot. "Not good," Ash chuckled nervously when he looked. The boy looked back up and was not surprised that it had been Bulbasaur's doing, but he got more concerned about the herd that prepared to tackle him.

Ash sighed and extended his arms out wide to receive his Pokémon. "No point in resisting anymore," Ash sighed. The Pokémon all cried out cheerfully when they had finally caught Ash and brought their trainer down to the ground like a wall.

They all got on top of him and nuzzled against him, licked him, hugged him. Ash laughed as they all treated him with affection. "That was cheating," Ash managed to reach the surface after being dug under his Pokémon, but the boy only laughed when he said.

His Pokémon laughed with him and they all smiled as he petted each of them. "That was fun guys, really, thanks," Ash said with a relaxed tone.

Pikachu and the others nodded in agreement with him. Ash continued to grin and stare at all of his Pokémon; the majority of them was with him and had played the entire time, even Charizard, Torterra, and Chesnaught. Infernape, Greninja, and Sceptile were the only ones absent and had decided to battle with each other rather than play tag.

Despite the absence of those three Pokémon though Ash still loved them and as he looked deep into the eyes of each of his Pokémon, he felt something incredible in his heart. "I value you guys so much, I love all of you from the bottom of my heart, I really do," Ash became sentimental and expressed his love for each of his Pokémon.

Some roared in joy and others smiled and embraced him happily, it was their way of showing how much they valued and loved Ash. "Our hearts are connected, you know that right?" Ash spoke to them.

They all nodded and Ash smiled softly, "No matter how far away we are friendships like ours never weaken." After saying that Ash's instantly remembered Serena and the boy petted his Pokémon one last time as they returned Ash's affection.

Ash stood up and confused some of his Pokémon, "Guys I have to do something that I had to get done earlier, but we had so much fun it slipped my mind. Once I get it done I'll come back and play with you guys later ok?"

They all nodded and roared at Ash joyfully, understanding that the boy had other priorities as well. "Thanks everyone, I'll catch ya later," Ash said to them and Pikachu leaped onto the boy's shoulder.

"Pika!" Pikachu bid farewell to his friends as well and the pair ran back to the lab.

"Pikapi pi?" Pikachu asked Ash if that thing he had to do had anything to do with the letter.

"That's right Pikachu, there are other friends that need us as well," Ash smiled at his yellow friend as he entered the lab and dashed past the kitchen while taking a glimpse of Brock helping Tracey and his mom clean the kitchen. Not much later he also passed the room where Professor Oak did most of his research and took a glimpse of the man working on something with great concentration.

_I wonder if I should tell them about what's going, _Ash thought if his other friends and mom should know about what has been on his mind lately. He thought about it as something that wasn't very interesting or important for the others so he only concluded with a _may be another time. _

When he reached the bookroom, he walked over to the video phone. He thought of the bookroom as the perfect place for doing something like writing a letter due to the solitude, tranquility, and all the literature surrounding him. The boy got a chair and sat down as he prepared to dial Serena's number.

"First we'll call Serena, I could really use her help on this one," Ash said to Pikachu with a sheepish grin.

"Pika," Pikachu nodded and understood Ash's difficulty with writing the letter after the boy had talked about it earlier this morning. The mouse only wondered what exactly his friend had thought up of during his absence. That no longer mattered though, the mouse assumed, he was here now and would help Ash in any way he could.

The waiting wasn't long for the duo and Serena appeared seconds after calling, the girl raised an eyebrow but then smiled when she saw who it was. "Ash, I thought you might have forgotten about me as soon as you boarded that plane!" Serena teased.

"Thank you Serena," Ash looked at the blond girl with an annoyed gaze but then laughed.

"Pikachu pika!" Pikachu greeted the Kalos girl once Ash finished talking.

"Nice to see both of you again, I have been missing you guys so much," Serena said with a sad tone.

"We've thought a lot about you too Serena, it's nice that we are having a chance to talk again," Ash grinned at her as he held the phone.

"I agree, but I was wondering. How come you guys called so soon? I mean it hasn't even been a week since we last saw each other," Serena pointed out.

Ash grinned sheepishly and then gulped, "I know, but there's something I've wanted to talk about with you."

"The letter to May?" Serena raised an eyebrow.

Ash and Pikachu's eyes widened when they heard her and Ash immediately asked her, "How did you know?"

"Girl's intuition," Serena winked and causing Ash to chuckle. "So what have you been struggling with Ash? Have you started writing it?"

"Not exactly," Ash scratched his cheek with a finger out of embarrassment, "There's so much I could write about like how successful she has gotten, our friendship, how we started out during our travels and experiences during our adventures." When the boy finished speaking he sighed, "I'm just not sure how to organize it all and make it sound right," Ash expressed his confusion.

"Hmmm, I see." Serena thought about it for a few seconds and smiled at him, "You know you should start following your heart and sees what it's telling you to put down on that paper."

"How do I do that?" Ash had a confused expression on.

Serena sighed, but wasn't ready to give up on Ash, "Start thinking about all of the memorable times with May, the quality of her character and…" suddenly the Kalos girl snapped her fingers.

"What?" Ash inquired.

"You should try to write the letter while imagining you're talking to May right now. Just pretend she's in front of you at this moment and write down all the stuff you would say to her if she were present right now. Don't hesitate to make errors Ash, I think you should make a rough draft of your letter and in the final take out any stuff you're not satisfied with," Serena explained to him.

A smile danced across Ash's face that sudden moment, "That's a good idea Serena, why didn't I think of that?"

"Cause you're Ash," Serena teased him and giggled.

Ash raised an eyebrow as he didn't quite understand the joke, "What?"

"Oh nothing," Serena smirked while Ash decided to just let it go. Serena grinned at him and made another comment, "So I'm assuming you're going to start writing this letter as soon as we say bye?"

"Yeah, this letter is really important to me," Ash expressed.

Serena nodded and smiled, "I understand, after all she is a pretty one and she'll be happy to hear from someone like you," the girl winked at him.

Ash tilted his head in confusion with Pikachu and the boy asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Serena sighed and just smiled, "Nothing Ash, I don't want to keep taking away your time while you could be writing that letter so we'll talk another time."

"Sure Serena, is it ok if I call you again if I get stumped?" Ash questioned with a worried look.

"Never hesitate to call me, you're my friend and I'm here for you. I miss the two of you so much; I hope I hear from you soon. Bub-bye guys," Serena began to wave at them.

"You will, thanks again for everything Serena, take care. Bye," Ash began to wave at her.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu also started to wave.

Serena continued to wave until her screen went dark and so did Ash's. Once Serena was gone Ash let out a sigh of relief, "Finally, I have solid thoughts that I can write down for the letter."

"Pikachu pika pipi!" Pikachu expressed his excitement over the letter.

Ash took a piece of paper and pen from the drawer just underneath video phone and clicked on the writing device. The excitement growing in his heart had already begun and growing and his pen hadn't even touched the paper yet.

"I don't have the best handwriting, but I'll try to make this as neat as possible," Ash commented as he began writing with slowness gentleness the first two words, _Dear May. _

Unfortunately for Ash, someone came to interrupt his free time. "Dear May?" Brock's voice almost made Ash jump and the boy quickly turned around.

"Brock, when did you come in?" Ash asked with a surprised look.

"I heard some talking and I found you in here. You looked awfully concentrated and didn't want to bother you, but my mouth couldn't help and say something when I saw you write those first two words," Brock said to his old friend.

Ash chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head while Pikachu became worried as to whether Brock would ask about the letter. "So you're writing a letter to May huh?" Brock nudged at him and laughed but felt a disturbing feeling grow inside him when he teased Ash.

"What's with the nudging Brock, it's just a letter," Ash remained oblivious to the innuendo in Brock's comment.

As Brock's uneasy feeling slightly grew he only let out a deep breath, "Never mind, so what made you decide to write a letter to May?"

Ash's face became a guilty one and the boy began to speak, "Well lately I've been feeling really guilty about losing contact with May. It was only a just a bit ago when I discovered who May had become and it was through a magazine. The idea of trying to contact May didn't hit me until my friend Serena made me realize how indifferent I had appeared regarding my friends. I really do care about my friends, I just saw Gary and Misty yesterday, and you're here with me Brock. Tracey is just a block away and I got a chance to talk with Iris, Cilan, and Dawn when they called to congratulate me on my performance in Kalos."

"I see…" Brock crossed his arms as his uneasy emotion began to grow stronger.

"With May though, it's been really different. The last time we ever spoke was at the end of the Wallace Cup in Sinnoh, remember? From then on we didn't speak to each other. She never called and I got so caught up in my journey she slipped out of my mind, to be honest I wouldn't be surprised if May is mad at me for doing such an awful thing," Ash's tone became sad as he kept talking.

Brock nearly choked when Ash mentioned the possibility of May being upset with him or worse…The spiky-haired male decided to cut Ash, "Don't be sad Ash. For all we know May might have been just as busy as you are and it's not easy for a celebrity to find free time. I haven't spoken to May in a long time and I have tried calling her, but her agents are always saying she's unavailable."

Ash shook his head sideways in response, "I just feel like I owe her a lot more Brock. A long time ago I promised myself that every friend and memory I made would be held in my heart forever and I even told May we would never stop being friends. All those moments we shared, I feel like I owe May a lot more."

"Oh," Brock's face became a saddened one.

Ash looked up at Brock with a sad expression and asked, "What's wrong Brock?"

"Nothing Ash," Brock formed a weak smile. "I'm just remembering all those great times we had with May and Max. Our adventures in Hoenn and Kanto with them are unforgettable. I can never forget all those amazing shows May put on with Beautifly, Blaziken, Wartortle. It's interesting how when you recall the whole thing, you remember May as being insecure about herself and had a difficult time overcoming the odds, but then she became like a professional and when we stopped traveling with her she earned Top 4 in the Kanto Grand Festival."

Ash quickly remembered the first time May lost to Drew, the second time when she lost to Savannah, and then again got defeated by Solidad in Kanto. He remembered all their moments during and between those times and felt as though he was seeing May grow up in a flashback.

"Let's not forget about those extraordinary adventures with Manaphy, Lucario, and those other Legendary Pokémon. It really was something else, all the adventures we've been through Ash have been amazing yet Hoenn feels like something that can never be recreated," Brock smiled as images of a younger Ash, May, and Max crossed his mind.

"I agree Brock, Hoenn was something else," Ash replied as he continued to recover more memories of Hoenn along with Pikachu.

As Brock lifted his head he saw the clock and sighed, "Ash."

"Yeah Brock?" Ash asked.

"I have to return to Pewter City now. I want to reach Viridian City before it gets dark," Brock stated.

Ash quickly stood up and reached out his hand with a smile, "Then I guess this is goodbye Brocko."

"It's never easy doing this with you old friend," Brock grabbed Ash's hand and shook it.

"Keep on reaching for your dream Brock, I'm always rooting for you," Ash said to his dearest friend.

"Same here Ash, I've always got your back and…good luck with May," Brock said with a proud smile and Ash returned the gesture while nodding.

"Pikachu pi," Pikachu said goodbye to his longtime friend.

"Take care Pikachu, I can't wait to see you guys next time," Brock responded and with that he waved a final goodbye to the memorable pair as he walked down the stairs, but as he did, the oldest of Ash's friends still felt that disturbing feeling from before.

Ash on the other hand was smiling and turned his eyes to the pen and paper on the desk. Thanks to Serena and Brock, Ash got brainstorming with ideas to write on the letter.

* * *

"There you go little one. I'm sure you'll be much better in no time," May finished wrapping a cloth around Poochyena's leg.

"Yena," Poochyena licked May's face and the girl smiled.

May grabbed the adorable Pokémon's head and kissed it on top, "You go and play with your brothers and sisters now."

Poochyena blushed because of May's kiss and nodded, dashing off to play with its siblings.

"Char charmander!" a Charmander ran to May and hugged her.

May smiled at it and picked it up, "Hi there, you're already awake. You looked so injured when I first saw you earlier today!"

"Char!" Charmander roared happily as May hugged it like a teddy bear.

"Zigzagoon, bulba, spritzee, larvitar, pika, riolu, mime, teddi, cubchoo, rufflet!" and the cries of other Pokémon caught May's attention and she looked down to see a bunch of small and medium-sized Pokémon surrounding her with affectionate eyes.

"Hey there guys, I'm glad to see that you're all doing better," May petted as many of them as she could until they tackled her down and nuzzled against her. Many of the Pokémon showering May with affection had several pieces of cloth covering injuries on their body while others had scars of serious injuries across their bodies.

May giggled as they began to tickle her and the more they tickled her more tears began to form in her eyes because of laughter. _At least one good thing came out of waking up today, _May thought as she enjoyed the time with the wild Pokémon.

Eventually the Pokémon became tired and just rested near May and the brunette got a chance to recover. The sapphire-eyed girl sat up and smiled at them, "Well that was fun," the girl giggled.

All of a sudden she heard footsteps and the sound of a woman's voice, "The Pokémon Cross is always eager to have you visit our centers Ms. May. It was awfully nice of you to send over food and money to provide shelter for these Pokémon while they recover. It was even kinder of you to join us with your Pokémon in treating the wild Pokémon."

May looked up and saw a middle-aged woman in a nurse's outfit causing the brunette to smile. "It's always a pleasure to help out when I get the chance," May replied. Her sapphire eyes observed the area and saw her Blaziken, Glaceon, Beautifly, Skitty, Venusaur, and Wartortle assisting many of the nurses with feeding and treating other Pokémon.

"They deserve food and a home as well as treatment. These Pokémon get sick, hurt and separated from their families when natural disasters occur and when poachers decide that they want to make a profit off of them. The least we can do for them is by providing all the requirements necessary to live," May said to the nurse.

"You're kind spirit is greatly admired," the nurse smiled.

"Well we have to heal the world some way right?" May said as she looked at a group of Cubone who suffered heavy wounds from torture by poachers.

The nurse agreed but May's conversation with her got interrupted when the voice of one of her agent's reached her eyes, "May we have someone who would like to see you."

"If it doesn't involve anything with Pokémon and people with needs leave me out of it," May said with a sour tone.

"What if it's a brother who needs to see his sister?" a voice all too familiar for May rushed through her ears.

Her eyes were wide and the brunette turned around instantly. A smile immediately formed across her face when she saw him. By this time he had grown so much that he was her height and he was only sixteen rather than eighteen. He still wore glasses and his hairstyle remained the same, his face retained the same look he carried since he was a kid but there was a large trace of maturity around it. The teen wore a green t-shirt and pants similar to the cargo shorts he wore as a boy and his shoes weren't different from the ones he wore when he was eight. To May this person would always be her little brother, no matter what. "Max!" the brunette yelled and hugged him.

"Hey May, good to see you," Max smiled as he hugged his sister.

"You've gotten taller," May giggled when she let go.

"Well people tend to grow when almost a year has passed," Max teased and snickered, "But you've obviously gotten even more famous too. There is not one store that doesn't have you on its window or magazines."

May giggled and spoke, "We have so much to catch up on."

* * *

**Apartment**

"Here's a glass of soda," May served Max some orange soda.

"Thanks," Max smiled as he drank some of it.

May sat down and gazed at him with a smile, "So how is the 'collecting badges thing' going?"

"It's going great, I just got my sixth one, but once I heard you were here in Sinnoh May I knew I had to see you so I took a pause from my journey," Max said to her.

"Awww what a sweet little brother," May grinned at him.

Max chuckled, "I knew I had to take this chance because boy May, I went through so much trouble to contact you. One more moment you're in Sinnoh and the next you're Kalos. I tried to call a hundred times, but your agents always said you were busy. I swear I think it's much easier to contact Wallace or Cynthia than it is contacting you."

May blushed out of embarrassment and spoke, "Well tight schedules tend to rule your life."

"I'm sure they do, but any way things have been going well over all here in Sinnoh. I've been training really hard with all of my Pokémon, especially this Cranidos I had just received in Oreburgh City. How have you been doing May?" Max inquired.

"It's going…ok," May said with uncertainty and laughed with the same uncertain tone.

Max took a sip of his soda and replied, "You know I spoke to mom yesterday and she told me quite the opposite, that you've been sad."

May felt a chill crawl down her spine and the girl laughed nervously, "Guilty is charged."

"Are you still having those nightmares?" Max questioned her with a curious tone.

"Well I do, at least once a week," May said, refusing to go into much detail about it.

"What are they like?" Max asked his curiosity obviously still present.

May bit her lip and knew she had to describe them somehow, "They're strange…I can never identify the person that appears in them all the time. Whenever I have those dreams I feel like a part of me is dying."

Max only sighed in response. "May, do you still remember our adventures in Hoenn and Kanto?" the sibling asked.

"Of course, those were really the days! I'll never experience anything like that again, when the three of us were able to travel on our own and I didn't have to worry about any bossy agents or obnoxious paparazzi. I felt free during that time," May smiled as she thought fondly of those travels.

Max closed his eyes in sadness and thought, _yeah…the three of us._

"I wonder how Brock is doing now that I think about it," May stared at the ceiling as she thought of her old friend.

"Me too," Max began to think about it as well.

"It's been so long since we last spoke. We haven't contacted each other at all since those days after the accident four years ago," May recalled the last time she spoke to Brock and felt guilty of failing to contact him, but she never had the time.

"Everyone contacted you those days to know how you were doing after the accident, after all, you weren't doing all that well," Max became saddened when he recalled the event that had occurred four years ago.

"It was really sweet of them. To this day I can't believe everyone I know contacted me," May smiled as she remembered.

_Everyone but one, _Max thought again in his mind but quickly shook it off.

"Hey why don't we talk out on the balcony, I feel like I could use some fresh air," May suggested.

"Sure," Max nodded as he drank the last of his soda.

The pair walked over to the balcony and as soon as they opened the sliding door they became overwhelmed by the screaming and sound of cameras taking shots. Max's eyes widened when he saw the crowds of photographers and fans, for the first time in his life he was witnessing what his sister's celebrity life was like.

May gasped and as soon as she heard the screaming, she quickly shut the sliding door. "I think I'll pass on that suggestion," May chuckled with embarrassment.

"How do you handle all of that?" Max asked with astonishment.

"I honestly don't know. I mean I don't mind the fans; after all they're just being sweet and expressing admiration for a person they look up to. They can be crazy though, I like to think of it as tough love cause they don't realize they're physically hurting you every time they try to touch you or let you know they love you," May tried not to be critical of her fans because she did love them as much as they loved her and always felt since her superstar career began they have been supportive in every imaginable way so she owed a lot to them.

"What about the photographers?" Max inquired.

May bit her lip and shook her head sideways, "I don't really like them. I try to be patient with them, but sometimes I feel like they're too invasive and will do anything for a great headline. Those cameras have me like a microscope." The brunette sighed, "Sometimes I wish I could have a vacation and leave those photographers to find some other news."

"Why don't you have a vacation?" Max inquired with a raised eyebrow.

May clenched her fists and she felt her eyes begin to water. She thought about how her agents dictated her and what her schedule would be, how very important people felt she needed to be in their presence immediately. As soon she finishes touring the world performing for people, her agents are already preparing her for the next one and at the same time she has to be at interviews, photo shoots, battles, special performances, etc. Fame has been hard on May and to make it worse her agents are considering making a TV show about May or make her write an autobiography, it was all just too much.

"It's just too hard Max!" May broke down and embraced him as she began crying.

Max got taken back by her sudden reaction and only embraced her. "It's too hard Max! I ca-can't even get enough sleep b-because they have me working all the time. They feel like they have a con-control o-o-over me and to make it worse the media gives me no privacy, imagine how frustrating-ing it is to go out and want to eat something but can't do it in piece because photographers are a-a-always there. The news is always gossiping about me and its awful sometimes, I still get upset when I remember how they gossiped over the incident with Drew. The w-world is just to cru-cruel."

"Sis I…" Max wasn't exactly sure what to say.

"I mean there are some good things. In my free time I do everything I can to help others, but sometimes the bad outweighs the good and no one ever seems to understand me when I try to reach out for help," May continued to weep on Max's shirt. "My only friends these days are my Pokémon and when I'm not doing something I'm just in my room alone, crying away the loneliness I carry every day."

Max sighed as he held his sister close. Right now he wished he could understand his sister but he knew he couldn't. Sure there was always one photographer or two interviewers who would ask him about his sister while on the road, but that wasn't even close to the life May lived.

"I-I-I miss you everyday Max and sometimes I dream about you, Brock, and I traveling a-a-again like we use to," May heaved as she tried to talk.

Max just patted her on back and closed his eyes as he let her continue to speak and cry. "May I'm going to go get some tissues for you ok. Don't go anywhere," Max decided to get her some Kleenex before his chest would get trenched by her tears.

"Ok," May sniffled as she separated him and Max became even more saddened when he saw her red eyes.

The boy dashed through the hall and it didn't take long for him to find some tissues in her bathroom, but he seemed surprised by the things she found on her bathroom cabinet. After grabbing some tissues he saw some small plastic containers with small pills inside. The majority of the containers were still brand new and Max shook his head when he read the labels, "painkillers", "anti-depressants", but when he noticed that the third container was already half empty he read the label, "sleep pills".

There was also a note next to the three containers and Max read it, "Take ONLY IN CASE OF EMERGENCY" and noticed that it was signed by a "Doctor K".

Max checked to see if May's garbage had any empty containers in case she had already taken some before, but there was no sign of any medication in the trash. The boy looked back at the containers with pills and let out a deep breath, "Oh May."

The teen then left the bathroom and when he entered the kitchen he found May calmer than before. "Here," Max handed her some tissues and May used them to wipe away her tears.

"How long are you staying in town Max?" May questioned as she cleaned herself.

"Till tomorrow," Max grinned at her.

When May finished wiping away her tears she smiled sheepishly and asked, "Is it ok if I ask my little brother to sleep with me for the night?"

Max knew his sister needed him for as long as she could and there was no hesitation going through his mind, "I'd be happy to sis," he replied with a grin.

May didn't answer back that moment and just embraced him yet again. She took a deep breath and spoke with a sweet tone, "Thank you my loving little brother," May continued to hug him until he had to tell her she was suffocating him.

**Just to avoid controversy I'll mention this: MAY IS NOT A DRUG ADDICT. Just because there were pills on her cabinet do not imply it and even if she did take some remember that she's 18, not the same sweet 10-year-old we are familiar with in the anime. For those who might be worried though, don't, because I'm not going to portray May in any shape or way as someone who is dependent on drugs and I'll limit her use of sleeping pills as much as possible just to keep the story more like Pokémon and not something you'd actually hear of in the real world. Other than that some interesting things got somewhat revealed in this chapter, including an "accident that occurred four years ago" and the fact that Brock and Max did act sort of strange during their conversations with Ash and May respectively. I'll be interested to read what you guys thought of all this SO PLEASE REMEMBER TO REVIEW, PM, ETC, YOUR WORDS ARE ALWAYS WELCOMED. Next chapter will clearly focus on Ash actually writing the letter and May…well May is in a much darker place right now than Ash so we'll leave it at that. SO I hope you guys enjoyed it, have a wonderful New Years and I'll update AW sometimes between tomorrow and Wednesday. Catch ya later!**


	5. Wanna Be Startin Somethin

Chapter 5: You Got To Be Startin Somethin

"You have all your food and clothes right?" May asked her brother as they stood on a dirt path.

"Yes for the third time May. You know, you didn't have to drive all the way out here with your agents," Max sighed.

"I know, but I wanted to save you some time and I wanted our goodbye to be without any press," May smiled as she answered.

Max chuckled and grinned, "Well all I can say now then is thank you for having me sis."

"You're always welcomed to hang out with me little brother," May got closer to him and hugged him.

"Little? I'm going to be taller than you next time we see each other," May's sibling chuckled as he hugged her back.

"Then I'll savor this moment," May squeezed Max a bit harder.

"I love you too May," Max barely managed to say as he felt May crush his lungs.

When May let go she beamed at him and said, "I'm going to miss you Max. Take care on your journey ok and have lots of fun with you and your Pokémon."

"I always miss you May, you take care too. Don't stress yourself out too much ok and promise to call us more often, mom, dad, and I worry about you," Max told the sapphire-eyed brunette.

May giggled and just nodded at him. She grabbed Max's head and kissed his head, "I love you, goodbye Max."

"Normally I'd complain about you kissing me like that, but I'll let it slide. So long May," Max smiled at her as he turned around began walking north.

"Goodbye," May mumbled as her eyes sparkled. Meeting up with Max was the best thing that had happened to her in months, she was glad they had gotten together even if it had only been for a day.

"May, we received a call from Wallace to tell you that you must head to Lake Valor for an interview," one of her agents walked toward her from the limo parked just some feet away.

May rolled her eyes and sighed, "That's right I forgot about that."

"We should return to the residence and get you dressed into presentable clothes," the agent informed her.

May chuckled sarcastically, "Ha ha no way. I rather do things myself today." The coordinator then threw a Pokéball and an Altaria appeared in front of them,

"You are going to ride your Altaria?" the agent raised his sunglasses a bit and stared with surprise.

"That's right; I'm in a pretty good mood today so I'll just meet up with you guys at Lake Valor." May walked over to her Altaria and got on. "Make sure to tell my pilot that I won't be getting to Lake Valor on jet today."

"But May," the agent tried to talk with the eccentric girl.

"Let's go Altaria!" May commanded happily.

"Taria!" the larger than normal Altaria spread its swings and gracefully flew upward.

"These celebrities, they get stranger and harder to control by the day," the agent sighed as he saw May disappear among the clouds.

* * *

At the same time, in a different part of the world a purple-haired male just set foot in Viridian City. He scanned the area with focused eyes and then smirked when he saw a sign with an arrow indicating the direction to Pallet Town.

"I should probably stop at the Pokémon Center before anything," the black-eyed trainer said as he walked through Viridian.

"I wonder if he's gotten home yet," the stern male murmured as looked at the Pokéball in his hand.

"I'm interested in testing out his skills," the traveler whispered as he remembered the last battle he ever had with his fierce rival.

* * *

"Look up in the air!" a man shouted as he pointed above.

"It's a bird!" a woman cried out.

"It's a plane!" a child screamed.

"No, it's May!" a boy exclaimed as the figure became clearer.

"Aren't famous people supposed to arrive in limos?" a little girl asked.

"There are her bodyguards!" a man noticed a group of men in black suits forming a space for May to land.

"Hi everyone!" May shouted as she waved her hand.

The crowd of fans erupted into joy as they all greeted May with screams and whistles. May grinned cheerfully as she saw all her beloved fans welcome her with wide smiles. "Altaria, prepare to descend," the coordinator instructed and Altaria nodded.

The Humming Pokémon elegantly began to descend on the circle space formed by May's guards. "Alta!" the Dragon-type cheered as May got off the Pokémon.

"Thanks for flying me all the way here Altaria. I know it isn't easy waiting an hour for a girl to find an outfit and then fly her all the way south," May caressed her Flying-type, who smiled sweetly at her trainer until May returned her to her Pokéball.

"May, Wallace is expecting you inside Valor Stadium," one of the agents informed her.

"One of you please let him know I'm on my way inside," May requested politely and her agents were quickly on it. The rest then began to surround her as a way to protect her from crazy fans and they started the walk to the stadium.

May tried to get a look at her fans and waved at as many as possible. The coordinator heard one fan compliment her fashion sense and the girl felt well about her choice of clothes for the interview.

Her male fans were clearly happy about her outfit also. For the interview she had decided to be very casual yet stylish by wearing black heels, leather pants, a black top, and a thin long-sleeved dark blue jacket. As she walked, the brunette could tell that men were checking out her figure from bottom to top.

"May you're so hot!" one man couldn't control his hormones and blurted it out.

May blushed and just giggled at the compliment. At one point the brunette also heard some very vulgar comments in the background but chose to ignore them. One thing she did hear were women wondering how she was able to walk so easily in heels.

The sapphire-eyed girl began to wonder about the first time she wore heels and recalled how it just felt natural to wear them. Heck, she was so good at wearing heels that she could run with them and it didn't require much practice.

Eventually May's mind focused on the interview once they entered through the back of the stadium. As soon as May arrived in the room for preparations she got received by Wallace, "May, what a pleasure to see you."

"Hi Wallace, how are you?" May questioned as she hugged her mentor.

"All is well, I hope you've been training hard," Wallace smiled at her as he returned the hug.

"Of course, somebody has to take your title of 'Contest Master' eventually," May winked and giggled.

"I look forward to that day," Wallace chuckled. Then the Hoenn Champion took a look at May's outfit and raised an eyebrow, "You're looking more appealing than usual."

"I decided to wear something a bit more sophisticated for today, everyone seems to like it so far," May stated.

Wallace nodded and spoke, "So are you prepared for today's interview. It'll be the first that discusses about our upcoming performance together for the Hoenn Grand Festival."

"I'm always ready," May smiled confidently, but couldn't kid herself and just giggled.

"Well as long as you know how to answer then we have nothing to worry about. I've read about recent activities, you're clearly enjoying the good aspects about the celebrity life," Wallace crossed his arms.

"I guess," May shrugged her shoulders.

"By the way, if you ever find yourself having a hard time with the negative aspects of the celebrity life don't ever be afraid to contact me. Just because you're making a name for yourself on your own now doesn't mean I'm not your teacher anymore," Wallace placed his hand on her shoulder.

May nodded and grinned, "Thanks Wallace."

Wallace shook his head and looked at the clock, "Well it appears to be time for our interview. Let's get moving May."

"Right," the brunette nodded and they exited the room with two bodyguards behind them. They entered a different room within the stadium and May noticed that it had gotten decorated for the interview.

As she came into the spotlight with Wallace they got many claps from a small audience sitting just a few meters away from the set. Just ahead of the pair was a couch for them to sit and a blonde, long-haired, middle-aged woman stood up to greet them.

"May and Wallace, two of the world's biggest superstars, welcome it's an honor for me to finally meet you," the interviewer stated as she shook their hands.

"Hello," May shook her hand and then looked at the audience. She noticed some banners and stuck her tongue out in a playful manner while making a peace sign. Her action caused laughter among the audience and some girls formed hearts with their hands to show their love for the coordinator.

Wallace waved coolly at the audience and many girls' faces lit up as the handsome champion also blew kisses at them. As the two sat down, the interviewer began to talk, "So tell us, how are you guys doing, how are you feeling?"

"I'm doing good thank you, it's really nice of you to have us today," May answered politely.

"Yes, we're doing great at the moment, life is motioning smoothly," Wallace smiled at the interviewer.

The interviewer nodded and grinned, "Well that's fantastic, I'm glad. Have you two been gearing up for the upcoming collaboration you have set?"

"Absolutely, it's always a thrill to get out there and perform," Wallace told the woman with a cool tone.

"I'm getting all set too; I've been practicing very hard with my Pokémon to make the performance a very unique one. It's just been a thrilling preparation so far," May crossed her legs as she spoke to the woman.

"I see. You know, just by telling me that you've trained hard and want to make this upcoming performance something huge is already making me excited. I'll be the first person that night to turn on the T.V and watch a dazzling show," the interviewer stated and laughed.

Wallace and May politely laughed along and once the interviewer stopped laughing she began to ask more questions. "So May, I was curious. You're considered the successor to Wallace and the current icon of coordinating. You are a role model for every teenage girl and young woman out there, but how did you manage to pull off such success?"

"It's actually a so-," May prepared to talk, but the interviewer cut her sentence.

"You have revolutionized coordinating, battling, fashion, and so much more. When Norman's daughter was first born 18 years ago, none of us could have imagined you'd become a global superstar," the host told her.

"Oh stop," May giggled nervously.

"I'm serious, it's just, you're amazing!" the host laughed.

May smiled and placed her finger on her chin, "The road has been long, but you know what you eventually pull it off if you keep going and absorb all the experiences you encounter while on the road."

"Yes that's very interesting. You've traveled around the place since you were 10 if I am correct," the interviewer nodded.

"Yeah and I met lots of people while on the road. I made some fantastic friends, I encountered so many Pokémon, and that all helped shape my success. My journey took me as far as meeting Wallace," May looked at Wallace and recalled the time they had met during the Wallace Cup here in this very building.

"That's very cool, so you just learned all your skills from traveling and meeting new people and Pokémon?" the woman inquired.

"That's right, I had some friends I would travel with and they would influence a lot of what I did. They were all very supportive, wise, and confident people, I was learning a bunch. I learned even more after becoming Wallace's student," May informed her.

"Really?" the interviewer bobbed her head.

"Yes, May was already a skillful coordinator when I began to train her under my wing and by the time she reached global stardom her abilities in coordinating and battling had almost quadrupled," Wallace commented as he recollected memories of those days.

"Wow that's so fascinating, yet intimidating. May, there are rumors going around that you're even as strong as Wallace and could pose a threat to his title as Contest Master," the woman pointed out.

Wallace and May laughed at the statement, but May shook her head. "I'm not really sure yet, and as much as I'd like to know, Wallace and I have never had a chance to have an all-out battle. May be we will some day in the future."

The woman grinned as May talked, "You know, no offense to you Wallace, but I've noticed that May has borrowed many of your abilities and has taken to them to new heights. It's like everything you do; May just takes it and improves it."

Wallace laughed nervously while May giggled. "Why don't we let May answer that one," Wallace laughed nervously as the interviewer waited for a comment.

May took a deep breath and smiled, "You know, ever since I first started coordinating I knew the only way to improve was by training and by watching the best. I'd see my friends train with their Pokémon, perform with them, and they would always pull off fantastic performances. When I saw Wallace compete, I'd always get goose bumps because it was just phenomenal. The first thing I'd do after watching all that is start practicing and try to pull off something just as awesome. By learning from the best of the best I would strive to reach their level. I believe the greatest education in the world is watching the masters at work. Watching professional coordinators like Solidad, Juan, Dawn, and Wallace helped me develop groundbreaking combinations and tricks."

"Simply amazing May. You know that first time I saw you compete in the Hoenn Grand Festival, I was taken back by how good you were as a performer and I could immediately tell you had potential to reach even higher," the woman commented.

"If you don't mind me saying, the fact that May is able to pull off my own combinations better than me tells you something." Wallace began pointing at the brunette and spoke sternly, "This young woman besides me, ever since I first met her, was driven by her hunger to learn in order to constantly top herself to be the best. Under my wing, May was an accomplished student and still is. She studies the greats and becomes greater. May continues to raise the bar and then break the bar again. Her talent and creativity launched her and coordinating into another world beyond our own."

Wallace's speech received applause from everyone and May grinned sheepishly as she thanked him for his kind words. "There you have it folks," the interviewer spread her arms out and grinned.

"May, when I look at you and think this is the girl who I saw on T.V years ago, I just can't believe it!" the woman spread her arms out again with an excited tone. "And I don't mean just physically, you've obviously become a very beautiful woman, but your skills and personality are also worth noticing," the interviewer mentioned.

"I don't know what to say," May grinned sheepishly.

"You're a famous humanitarian, coordinator, fashion model, what next?! What is even more admirable is how you were able to handle such a drastic change, I mean you've always been on the spotlight since your dad is famous in Hoenn but your stardom surpassed that level. How were you able to handle such a change, you know with all the media, gossip, and rumors involved?" the woman questioned.

May giggled and smiled, "Well I never expected to become so well-known, so it came as a surprise. When I first had to do interviews, photo shoots, private performances I was very nervous, but thanks to Wallace I overcame that. The thing I still have trouble with is handling all the flashing cameras, questions about my privacy, and the comments made about me in tabloids."

"Oh yes, I know tabloids can write very inaccurate or harsh things," the woman nodded.

"Yeah, like once I read claims about me wanting lip surgery. I just thought 'what' and I couldn't understand where such a story came from. Other times because of my age, I've read tabloids that enjoy portraying me as a party animal who likes to hook up with guys for the night and waste all of my money on shopping when that is not the case," May commented on the awful things written about her over the past two years.

"You poor thing, you know I still remember that one huge gossip story about you and Drew about a year ago. There were no tabloids that didn't have you two on the cover," the woman recalled.

"Yes, I was going through a very difficult time during that and the media kept writing false stories about my relationship with Drew. I would read things like Drew got me impregnated, Drew was cheating on me, Drew was interested in me for fame and it was terrible," May sighed and shook her head sideways.

The woman crossed her legs and asked a very curious question, "You know, speaking of Drew, did you ever learn anything from him. Is he one of those friends that you said inspired you?"

May smiled and nodded, "That's right. Ever since I first met him, Drew influenced a lot of what I did on stage and one of my goals was to get as good as him and then pass him. Drew and I were always rivals and he's a major reason I'm here, I always hold him in high regard."

As Wallace listened, he began to get uncomfortable not because May had stolen the show but because he didn't like the direction of where this interview was going. "Do you still have feelings for him?" the woman inquired.

May let out a deep breath and smiled softly, "I rather not talk about it."

"Could you tell me why the two of you broke up?" the interviewer asked.

May kept her lips shut while grinning and shook her head sideways, becoming slightly annoyed. "You two were the world's biggest couple at the time; Drew was almost as famous as you. Paparazzi would take pictures of you organizing picnics, kissing at the beach, training together, eating together, and every movie theatre would become crowded whenever you two entered. Both of you were the definition of love, the chemistry between you two was so high, did you ever make love with Drew?" the woman began to hit a sensitive spot.

The sapphire-eyed girl rolled her eyes and sighed, "No, may you please respect my privacy? I'm really not comfortable talking about my personal life and who I make 'love' with or not." As she said that, the brunette could feel emotional stress build up inside her.

The interviewer laughed off May's comment and responded, "Alright, well do you ever see yourself in the way the media sees you?"

"You know, most of the time the media, the tabloids, just write stuff about me that is not true. They claim I have an ego higher than the darn moon and that is completely untrue. I do not see myself as a selfish shopaholic or 'manizer' like the tabloids accuse me of. I do not think I'm better than anyone and I certainly would never hurt any human beings in any way. On the contrary, I do everything to help people and Pokémon, I give a lot of the money I make to charity, I visit as many residences as I can that have humans and Pokémon in need, I do as much as I can to help the less fortunate because that is who I truly am at heart," May placed her hand on her right breast as she said that.

"Don't ever wonder though where the media gets these ideas if that's not who you are?" the woman frowned when she inquired.

"I may have my moments where I lose my temper with the media and tell them to buzz off, but that is only because they provoke me. I would never hurt anyone, not even a group as unfair as the media. Like what happened to the truth, did it just go out of style?" May's eyes expressed the hurt she felt inside.

"Have you ever thought of trying to make amends with the media?" the woman raised an eyebrow.

May frowned and spoke, "I really don't have the time to answer these questions because they have nothing to do with the collaboration between Wallace and me." The sapphire-eyed girl then stood with an annoyed expression.

Wallace quickly stood up and grabbed her by the wrist, "May, I think you should take it easy," he whispered.

"It's not fair how you guys try to make good people look bad only because you want to make a quick buck. You make up false stories for profit and you guys should be ashamed of yourselves, it's inhuman to antagonize people who have never done anything wrong," May felt her voice become shaky and her eyes began to water.

The interviewer just looked at May with a surprised gaze and the audience had widened eyes. "Why can't you guys give us our privacy or better yet just get away from me!" May yelled and felt her voice crack, at the same time she began to feel dizzy and her vision turned black.

The last thing the coordinator felt was her body losing control and she dropped. Wallace's eyes widened and everyone in the room gasped in shock as agents rushed to call the emergency phone number.

* * *

_Dear May, _

_ It's been such a long time since I have spoken to you. I hope with all my heart that you are doing great and I always miss you. There are so many things I would like to tell you and make up for the lack of contact, but let me start off by saying congratulations! May, I'm so proud of you and I couldn't be happier about where you are right now. You've come so far from when we traveled together, you started off your journey like anyone else and now you're a star around the world and considered one of the best coordinators/trainers around. That is really worth something, I knew you could always do it, I never stopped having faith in you. All of your success…it was thanks to all that effort you put…you worked hard for your dream. That dream you always carried was more powerful than anything I had ever known, it was more powerful than reality itself and the best part of it was you accomplished it. No one achieved it except for you! You kept dreaming and fighting for that fantastic dream until it became a part of your reality!_

_ I always believed in you May and even if we haven't contacted each other in years I never forgot about you. When I saw your smile on that magazine cover I could not get over how much you changed, yet you remained the same. Through your smile I know you hadn't change. I'm sure you never will stop being the determined, funny, and beautiful human being I remember you as. Keep carrying that same light you do May and you'll continue to be a happy, loving, and strong person. Just keep carrying it and charge forward like a Rapidash, with a high and powerful, yet gentle, affectionate, and loyal spirit that allows the heart to persevere through every adventure and moment the world threatens to fall apart, ultimately triumphing with a beautiful character. I may not have been there with you over the years, but know that at heart I'm always with you and you're never alone. Remember that in your darkest hour, in your deepest despair, through your doubts and frustrations, in your anguish and pain, through your joy and your sorrow, I will always be there, I'll still care. After 8 years the one thing I can tell that has changed about your heart is that it has only gotten brighter. So May, the only advice I have for you at this point, after accomplishing your dream, is to never lose faith in yourself, keep moving onward and know that all things are possible, never ease up no matter how difficult things are…there's nothing in this life you can't overcome! _

_ Love Always,_

_ Ash Ketchum_

As Ash finished reading his letter, he looked at Pikachu. "Pikachu!" the mouse nodded and grinned.

Ash looked back at his letter and smiled, "Then it's done. Tomorrow we travel to the Pokémon Center in Viridian City and get this mailed," Ash stated as held the paper in his hands.

The raven-haired boy then reached for something in his drawer and took out a photograph. It was a picture of Brock, Max, May, and him. He smiled as he took a look at himself, Pikachu had settled on his head by surprise so he came out pretty bad in the picture. Max had his arms spread out happily while May had her fist pumped at the air and smiled coolly.

"Pika pikapi," Pikachu chuckled as he gazed at the photograph.

"It was a funny day wasn't it? It was so long ago though," Ash scanned the picture and tried to compare a current picture of May with the photograph. Although May had not changed by much physically except for a developed figure, she obviously had a mature and sophisticated aura then the girl he had traveled with. At heart though, May was May.

An idea then occurred in his head, "Hey Pikachu, why don't we take Charizard and some of the other Pokémon on the trip tomorrow. You know, for fun. We'll arrive there faster if we fly and some of the other Pokémon could use some freedom outside of the ranch."

"Pikachu pi!" Pikachu agreed with Ash's decision.

"Great, then it's settled. I want to get this letter to May fast, so I want to get to Viridian City fast. The only thing I'm wondering is if she will reply…" Ash began focus again on the context in the letter.

_Will May respond to me after such a long time? What if she's mad? What will she even think once it reaches her? Will she like it or not? What will I do if she doesn't respond? _A barrage of questions began to hit Ash and it made him uneasy.

All of a sudden his mom barged into the room. "Ash come quick!" Delia yelled.

"What is it mom?" Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Just come quick!" Ash's mom ordered as she left the room as fast as she came in.

"I wonder what's up," Ash stood up and left his letter on the table. The pair dashed downstairs to see what Ash's mom had been so loud about, "Why did you want us to come down?"

"Look for yourself," Delia said with a nervous tone while staring at the television.

Pikachu and Ash turned their attention the T.V and saw an ambulance just outside of the stadium at Lake Valor. There were hundreds of people gathered around the area and a group of men in black were walking alongside Wallace and a stretcher with someone lying on it.

"What's going on?" Ash wondered and got closer to the T.V and read "Breaking News: Superstar Faints in Emotional Breakdown".

When Pikachu and Ash's eyes were able to determine the figure lying on the stretcher they identified it as, "May!"

"Pikaaa?" Pikachu gasped.

Suddenly, the image changed to the ground level and showed many members of the press trying to get pictures of May as she got taken in a stretcher. Ash's eyes grew in size when he saw the brunette with her eyes shut, her skin pale, and an oxygen mask on her.

"What happened?" Ash frowned as he became frustrated with the news.

"They said she fainted during an interview about her and Wallace's upcoming performance. No one knows why, what, or how it happened, she just fainted," Delia's eyes began to get watery.

"Is she going to be ok?" Ash looked at her with horrified eyes.

"I don't know Ash," Delia said with a concerned tone.

Ash looked back at the screen with Pikachu and gritted his teeth; he thought about his letter and wondered if it was too late. His mind was exploding into a million thoughts and they were all about May. In the end, the only thing he could think was _c'mon May you can make out of this, I know you can overcome it, you just need to find the strength. _

* * *

There was a chime ringing through the room, a very sad one. The sound was very childlike, yet sad and it fit the setting perfectly. The chime kept going like a sad instrumental song and as May looked around the room and noticed it was incredibly dark. The only light available was that shining down on the coffin of someone. The brunette couldn't understand what was going on but as she looked around, she saw hundreds of people crying and asking to themselves why Arceus had taken such a beloved human being.

The brunette continued walking as the sobbing across the room did not seem to halt. She realized there was an image on the screen, but it was too blurry to identify and May just kept looking around, trying to understand what on earth was happening.

As she walked over to the coffin she noticed some familiar faces, but the darkness did not allow her to completely identify them. When she reached the coffin, the first thing she did was lift it and she just looked at the person in it.

They looked as though they were asleep rather than dead. She could not recognize the person at all, but they were clearly loved by everyone else. She continued staring at the figure with the black hair and some tears silently began to stream down her cheeks.

"Huh?" May became surprised as she wiped away the tears. She turned around to see if anyone had noticed her crying, but everyone still seemed to have their heads lowered.

Her sapphire eyes turned back to the body, but her eyes widened when she saw a different person this time. The person was none other than her and the chime she had heard this whole time increased in volume until it was ear-splitting, she could hear people begin to yell "thank yous, we'll miss yous," and clapping. May began to cry as the chime caused her to become incredibly saddened, she felt like she was going to cry herself to death.

Abruptly, the chiming stopped and everything became silent. May continued weeping, but as she started to open her eyes she found herself in an empty kitchen. With her red eyes the brunette looked around but saw no one. Tears continued falling from her face as she pulled her hair and suffered a major headache.

May slowly got up from the floor and began to walk to the kitchen counter. There should a container filled with pills and a meat cleaver. The brunette continued crying as tears fell all over the kitchen counter. She lowered her head and began crying loudly.

She reached for the container of pills and checked how many there were inside, which appeared to be 20 or around there. The girl continued crying and without wasting another moment swallowed all the pills like if she were drinking water and the girl shrieked in pain as she reached the meat cleaver. She closed her eyes and let more tears stream down, she positioned the sharp item on top of her wrist. Without hesitation the girl slashed her wrist and felt a powerful sting.

The pain May experienced in her dream was enough to return her to reality, with her eyes meeting with the hospital ceiling.

**Pretty serious and dark chapter by the time you reach the end. Hopefully it wasn't too disturbing. Chapter 5, I guess truly explores the darker side of May's mind and what thoughts cross her mind when she's under the pressure of the entire world. As we continue folks, the tone just gets more serious and mature, so if you didn't agree with the last scene of this chapter then its best not to continue. For any of those worried though, the reality of this story will not be as dark as the dreams the characters have. After all this is still Pokémon, not an adult series. Next chapter will be truer to the tone of Pokémon, so please do not worry if you're afraid I'll write a horrific scene that involves Ash or May getting hurt or even dying. This chapter once again explores May's past and we are beginning to enter Ash's situation with the letter. REMEMBER TO REVIEW, PM, ETC, EVERYONE, FEEDBACK IS ALWAYS WELCOMED SO NEVER HESITATE TO COMMENT ON ANYTHING. Be sure to stick around for Chapter 6 guys, for now see ya!**


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